


Messenger

by TheLavenderNarwhal



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Agender Character, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 40,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26570581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLavenderNarwhal/pseuds/TheLavenderNarwhal
Summary: It's days like these that are the best. The sun was just starting to come up and the streets and squares were still clear from the usual crowds of people, leaving things uncharacteristically calm. Perfect for deliveries, Piko thought. Fewer people meant he could run as fast as he wanted without being a pain and without danger of crashing into a guard. They were already suspicious about his household.Time for some royalty au!  This story is a lot more meme squad centric due to the gang needing some more love and is set in late 1600s England though that's more of a reference. (There still will be some Floko because I'm trash.) I'll update every weekend and I do not own any of these characters.
Relationships: Maika/YOHIOloid (Vocaloid), flower/Utatane Piko
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

It's days like these that are the best. The sun was just starting to come up and the streets and squares were still clear from the usual crowds of people, leaving things uncharacteristically calm. Perfect for deliveries, Piko thought. Fewer people meant he could run as fast as he wanted without being a pain and without danger of crashing into a guard. They were already suspicious about his household.

"Are you ready?" Miki asked, clearly still half asleep. She had parcels of freshly stitched clothing over her arm and her reddish hair hanging down to her waist in knots. Piko knew that at five in the morning she wouldn't be anywhere close to being ready for the day.

"Yep. Do you have the delivery list?" Piko peeled himself away from his window perch and proceeded to take the clothing from her. "Better to get started sooner than later."

Miki rolled her eyes. "In your opinion. The list is by the door and please try not to wake up half the town."

"That was one time." Miki laughed as Piko turned an embarrassed red. She was the only one here biologically related to him, so she had that extra right to tease.

"Sure. Just be careful and don't wake me up when you get back."

"'Kay" Piko picked up his list of five or so addresses hanging out of a little basket by the front door. Marching orders as Miki would call them. The words could barely be read in the dim building with most of the windows still being shielded by long sheets of linen at this point in the morning. You'd think these people would melt with too much sunlight, Piko thought to himself.

Well, no time for that. He had a job to do and everyone needed to do their part to get by. If his was running around the inner and outer parts of town with mended pants, then so be it. Someone needed to get these garments back to their owners and mail services was way too expensive. Plus, Fukase did not trust these people with delivering payment back to them.

Not that Piko minded. The wind blowing through him on the streets as he sprinted away was a feeling he could not replace. The sky was painted with vibrant shades of orange and pink with thin clouds fading overhead. The air was just cold enough to be comfortable leaving this as Piko's ideal setting.

Regarding his list, the first stop was the bakery down the road managed by a man that had a terrible track record of burning holes into his aprons and refusing to get a new one. And off he went; through the blunt house up to the rows of shops that were mostly eye candy to the bulk of people. They had prices for nobles that never stopped by despite the royal court being right outside the town's borders. Piko could help but think that the only nobles he's seen were tax collectors and those heading for the Lord's manor and even those were getting rarer.

Piko's mind had a tendency to wander off with a range of not great consequences coming from it. 'Have to stay present or else someone is going to run into a wall. This customer was all too aware of this quirk being a baker and having been awake to see Piko run past and/or into his destination. At least he never gave him too much pain about it.

"Good morning, Kaito." Piko greeted slipping into the shop.

"'Morning," replied the lanky, blue-haired man. "You got here just in time for chocolate hour."

Piko smiled shyly. Oliver loved "chocolate hour" or the time of the morning that Katio coated fruits and other such things in chocolate to freeze for the next day and set up the treats for today's market. The few times that Ollie tagged alone, he always wanted to watch the process due to Kaito being the only baker in miles with chocolate. There were some perks from being sandwiched between one stuffy noble and the palace. "I have your apron."

"Great. I wouldn't be able to stand it if this got dirty." He remarked down at his linen undershirt that was already covered in flour, making Piko a little too aware of the stains on his own clothing. "Seriously, tell your sister thanks."

"Can do, though you might want to invest in a new one." Piko pointed out.

Kaito sighed. "Why would I? This apron has had my back or I guess front for years and a few holes doesn't change that." He picked up the hem of the most recent stitch job in bright white thread. "See, good as new."

"If you say so."

Kaito made his way around the back counter covered in fruits and melted chocolates dusting his hands off on his top. "Of course, I can't forget to pay."

"The gang would have my head if I didn't get that," Piko commented. Gotta support themselves somehow.

Katio dropped the coins into his hand, letting him place it into a small storage bag. "Sorry about the smaller coins. Business has been a bit slower around here with the tax collector and all."

Piko shook his head a little. "Yeah. What are the higher-ups even doing with it?" Taxes have been all too common as of late and people have had less and less money for luxuries.

"Beats me. It would be nice if they stop by and give a notice about whatever the big project is. I just hope we get some information soon."

No one knew what was going on with the royals. There have been almost no changes since the king and queen left for a "diplomatic mission" whatever that means and the princess hadn't been seen out of the palace in close to a year, so she's no help for an update. Piko was worried about that family. The public was getting restless and they won't wait much longer for the royals to come around especially with the taxation. When that breaking point happens, well... good luck.

"Agreed. It'd definitely be nice." And it'd make my house much quieter, Piko thought. This sort of thing is highly talked about at home to Piko's discomfort, but it's better to let Fukase rant at home than having him talking politics in the streets.

"Well, I'll let ya go. You have other places to stop by." Kaito waved as he went back to his work. He was right. There's plenty of stops to get to.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

"Finally you're back. Did you really forget?" Fukase asked as Piko came through the door. It was still early, but no one would miss Oliver starting his first day of work.

"Of course not." Piko put down their profits and faced his basically family. Fukase sat on one of the front window sill with his cherry-red hair and button-down shirt being equally untidy. One couldn't tell just by looking at him, but he was definitely worried about Ollie's job. Miki wasn't as stressed about the job itself, but she was checking that Oliver had everything he needed; that he was ready. Though, the little blond himself couldn't have looked happier. He finally got to prove himself, though didn't he know that they were sending him out because the bills have been hitting harder than they wanted to admit.

The kid still looked overjoyed. "Great! I'm going to have to get going soon and trust me, I'll be fine." Ollie stated glancing between Fukase and Miki.

"Yeah, yeah, we know. Just be careful. I don't want you to get hurt pasting gossip between those nobles." Fukase cautioned.

Miki scoffed a little. "The nobles are the last thing I'm worried about. What reason would anyone have to hurt a messenger for doing their job?"

"We have no clue what kind of crazies live in there at this point." Fukase pointed out as he moved closer to the rest of the group. "Plus, I heard that the princess is quite literally a royal pain."

"Ok, you've been spending way too much time eavesdropping." Piko added.

The red-head shrugged. "It's a very important part of my profession." Ah yes, pick-pocketing. A noble form of work that Fuka was a little too good at. His excuse that it's profitable, but they all knew that it won't be incredibly profitable if and when he got caught. Piko has already needed to talk him out of a lot of close calls with guards and nobles alike.

"Seeing as this might go on for a while, I'll be heading out." Oliver waved, grabbing his newsboy cap and trying to slip out the door without people making a fuss. Good luck with that.

"Nope. You can't escape hugs." Miki told him in her matter-a-fact voice as she scooped the small-statured boy into her arms. He hugged her back carefully so as to not pull on her hair leaving Piko not being able to help thinking back to when he first came here.

A woman that they assume was Ollie's mom came to their small house nearly seven years ago saying that he was sick and she didn't know what to do. Clearly, the space was much of a hospital, but Miki didn't have the heart to turn her away. Therefore, Oliver was just left with three teenagers, and the lady saying that she would come back soon. Well, surprise, she never came back and Oliver didn't even seem ill, but now the group could hardly imagine life without that pipsqueak.

But now wasn't the time to get sentimental. "Best of luck," Piko told him ruffling his hair.

Fukase elbowed the snowy teen. "He doesn't need luck here."

" Eh, some luck wouldn't be too bad," Oliver noted. "Now if you wouldn't mind putting me down please?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Flower! Wake up!" A voice called to the once sleeping form.

Flower stretched out and glared at the women. "What's going on?" She asked wiping crusted bits from her eyes.

"We've already let you oversleep. Time to get up." The lady grabbed the wooly blanket off of Flower much to her annoyance. What was basically being said was time to start another day of nothing.

"So, Maika, there's no real reason for me to be conscious." Flower stated sounding like a mix of tired and deadpan.

Maika sighed. "You need to get ready and start your schoolwork. That's reason enough."

Yeah, there's no escaping this. Maika grabbed a light blue gown with ghostly ruffles on the hem and sleeves from Flower's wardrobe, it being one of the high-end ones that she despised wearing. That could only mean one thing. "Is there a council meeting today?"

"Umm...yes. One of your parent's messengers will be bringing an update this afternoon and we'll need to discuss future actions." Maika informed, regrettable. Flower could not stand those meetings. She couldn't actually do anything, but look nice and watch as no one listens to her. They probably only had her there as a formality.

"Fun. Now may I get dressed?"

"Of course. I'll get the skirt." The adviser went to the door and turned back to the slightly salty princess. "Hang in there."

No other way, Flower thought as she forced herself out of bed and into her whalebone corset that was molded to her shape after (in her opinion) too much use under layers of fabric. Getting ready for these meetings took almost as long as the meeting itself and it was purely for vanity. Well technically it's for getting other people to "respect" Flower's status, but they would hardly treat her as an equal anyways. They just saw her as a little princess sitting in on the grown-ups, so why bother?

"Still being broody about this stuff?" Maika questioned as she slipped back in.

Flower slumped down. "I'm not being broody, just frustrated."

"Same difference. I know that these meetings are difficult, but it's for the sake of our people." Maika reassured. She probably knew the most about Flower's issue being her one of her basically stand-in parents for the time being, but she had a tendency to block out one of the most important details in this whole ordeal; the people hated her.

They haven't seen her in so long and they didn't like it. Everyone felt like the "royals" had abandoned them and Flower couldn't help but agree, but there's still nothing she could do about it. Apparently, it's too dangerous. Ok, maybe she was being a bit broody.

"The court would not be happy if you weren't in attendance today." Maika noted setting out an underframe of Flower's skirt.

Flower rolled her eyes. "I think they'd prefer it that way."

"I'm not talking about what they'd prefer. I'm referring to how they'd feel."

"Good point."

Time for dress hell. Whoever thought that huge dresses should be a staple of classiness is the bane of Flower's existence. Seriously, how does anyone move in these things? "I don't know what's more dangerous, the mad public or me using this skirt as a weapon by complete accident."

"I think it's an even match." Maika stepped back from the now draped fabric and turned her eyes to the tallish girl temples. Flower could practically feel her eyes probing her little personal rebellion. "Are you sure about the hair?"

"Yes. Completely." Flower had cut her hair into a short pixie style after a council meeting that ended in a particularly insufferable noble undermining her input based on her appearance. To say the least, it was degrading. And well, one thing led to another and Flower was down a lot of hair and up one horrified adviser. Maika tried to convince her to use a wig, but they both knew that that wouldn't happen.

"Fine. At least try the veil. It wouldn't kill you to try cleaning up for this."

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Flower took a delicate hair cover from her nightstand embroidered with a petal ridden pattern and pinned it behind the front fringe of her hair. "Better?"

Maika sighed with an exasperated smile. "As best as we'll get. Come on, you probably want breakfast before all of this."

"You're right about that."

The palace was already wide awake as the two ladies made their way to the elaborate dining hall. Messengers dashed along the corridors and guards were returning from a night shift in a buzz of activity that made the place feel all the more alive. Though Flower would never admit it, she did love it here. The bold arches and detailed woodwork that would intimidate most felt like home. And of course, the people were the most important part. Without her parents, these people were Flower's family.

"Have you seen Yohio today?" Flower asked knowing that he would around here somewhere. He was never far from the white and pink-haired noble much to Flower's amusement and Maika slight embarrassment.

"He's probably doing his own important preparations. Remember, we have to suffer with you." Maika commented.

"I think Yohio has the most suffrage."

"Most likely."

Yohio couldn't stand these proceedings almost as much as Flower and they have a number of inside jokes to show for it. It was simply too much time to have to pretend to be serious. The lords had no sense of humor.

Speaking of humor, Flower could spot a bright blond boy about the same height as her carrying his squire's sword carelessly through the hall. "Len, I doubt that there's going to be an evasion during breakfast."

Len playfully glared at Flower in response. "I doubt that there's going to be a royal ball at breakfast, but here we are."

"Very funny."

"I know. I'm hilarious." Len smirked. "Let me guess, meeting day?"

"Clearly. It's not like I'm wearing all this for kicks." Flower remarked following Maika into the kitchen.

The apprentice shrugged. "I know that much. You're lucky to be in there regardless of the dress code. Sir Dex would never let me sit in even though I have great tactical ideas."

"Good luck with getting these people to listen to those ideas."

"It'd just be nice to be included." Len said wistfully. He's wanted to be a knight since he could talk and getting sent to a council and strategy meeting would be a big step forward for him.

"Speak for yourself." A tall man stated. Figures Yohio would be here doing his very important preparations. "Those guys wouldn't really appreciate your...ummm...charm."

"If that's what you want to call it." Flower teased.

"I'm plenty charming."

Yohio and Flower shared a look knowing how far that's got the banana child. "Hardly matters in this case. If fast-talking could work here, Flower would have been terrorizing the nearest town long ago."

Flower couldn't help but think back to how long it's been since she been off of the palace ground. Way too long in her humble opinion. "Too soon, bud."

"Ehm..." The group turned their heads to Maika reminding them that amongst the banter, she was still there. "I hate to interrupt, but the meet starts sooner than you think, and being late would not look good."

Yohio stood up to match his co-worker. "You know, there are times when I hate you being right."

"You and me both."


	3. Chapter 3

Oliver's mind raced as he stepped through the tall, oak doors of the palace. He never thought he could be here, worker or not. Better yet, he actually gets to be helpful to everyone at home. Ollie knew that they just wanted to keep him safe, but he couldn't block out the way that they all have to try so hard to keep everything going. Finally, Oliver can make it easier.

Thinking about it, getting this position wasn't all that hard. The court always needed more messengers and fast, healthy volunteers were difficult to come by. Lucky for Oliver, he'd been running since he could clearly remember. It takes some practice to keep up with Piko.

There were some things that Oliver would need to practice. The front hall of the castle was positively huge with velvet red carpeting and a polished wood path lead up a gold crusted stairway. As beautiful as it was, Oliver knew that he would be lost after a few turns. Around him, people filled the grounds with their own business, being certain with their personal tasks meanwhile Oliver simply wanted to get pointed in the direction of whoever he was supposed to check-in with and be on his way.

"Excuse me, do you know where the messengers are supposed to meet?" Oliver asked a guard posted by the door.

The guard glanced down at the small boy probably wondering how a pipsqueak like this got a job here. "Those quarters should be in the back of the east wing down the right hall. Someone down there could be a bit more specific." He gestured to one of the branching corridors.

"Thank you. I'll ask." He simply nodded back with Oliver setting off with his directions. Being late would not look good on the first day.

Based on Ollie's perception, the palace was every bit as grand as it looked from the outside, but what he didn't expect was the wide array of people. There seemed to be people from all classes and walks of life running this center. It can be too easy to think that it's only the royal family living here, but it takes a whole army to keep everything running.

Oliver could tell that the servant quarter was getting closer based on the steady stream of uniformed workers. Some probably being messenger, he thought excitedly. Now to try and find someone that understands how all of this works.

The only way is to ask. "Ummm, hi. Do you know why I'm supposed to check-in?" Oliver tapped the shoulder of a smallish person walking the center of the hall. They looked petite and cheery, with a spring in their step and long, pink and blue pigtails. He figured that they were his best bet seeing that someone around his age couldn't be too mean.

"Well, based on your look, I assume for the runner job. I heard we'd be getting a new kid." The person remarked circling the small boy. "Though you look like one of the rattier ones. On the short side, but I can't really comment. Are ya fast? Can you read?"

Oliver swallowed, unsure of what to say to this kid's spitfire analysis. They don't sound mean vs curious and well, hyper. "Yeah, I guess."

"Great. Oh, I'm Hime. I was just going to clock in, so you can follow me." They skipped down the hall expecting Ollie to travel behind. He certainly hadn't planned on finding someone that shared in his "smolness" as his family calls it so quick and certainly not with this much... force of personality.

Oliver didn't waste time catching up. "So, what's the, ummm... procedures here." Oh God, I'm starting to sound like Piko, Ollie thought.

"Nothing too bad. It's mostly stopping by our cubbies in our housing to get messages to then deliver. You'll have your own cubby there. All you have to do is look where or whom letters are addressed to run them to the right place." Hime explained still sounding chipper as ever. "Though some people will ask you to deliver something while you're out and in that case, just look at who it's going to in order to decide if it's a top priority."

"Shouldn't I bring the message I got first to where it needs to be then focus on the other one?" Oliver asked. It sounds fairer that way.

"Normally yes, but would you really want to keep someone like, I don't know, the princess waiting?"

"You have a good point." Ollie glanced away for a bit. Everyone in town has heard rumors of an absolute brat of a princess and Oliver really didn't want to test the truth of those. "Just curious, but what are the people like here?"

"Great! All of the other runners are super close and the higher up can be a bit huffy, but never really mean. Unless you count my sibling, who can be an absolute butt." Hime commented as the two stepped into a lounge looking workspace.

"I heard that. You know, it's not particularly nice to talk about people behind their backs." A light blue-haired kid stood up from their spot in the room. They shared the same statue as Hime and a similar dusty red uniform, but they didn't seem to have nearly the same amount of energy.

Hime rolled their eyes. "Oh please Mikoto, I would have said that to your face. Besides, I've got important things to do right now."

Mikoto turned their attention to the small blond. "New kid?" Hime nodded. "Well, I'm very sorry about this one's behavior, whatever they did."

"It's fine. Hime was just explaining how this all works." Oliver said wave away any joking concern. In truth, Oliver was grateful for some early guidance, but he'd rather not step in between these two.

"I'll take your word for it. Your stuff should be in your cubby and check-in is down the hall."

"Ok. Thanks!"

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oliver had to admit, he didn't expect a full uniform let alone with such soft fabric. He really couldn't get over how good quality this thing was. Miki would be impressed and that's high praise.

"Hey! You have a message!" Hime exclaimed when Oliver stepped out of one of the back rooms. He walked over to his area to find a wax-sealed scroll letter with a name scrawled in loopy cursive that Ollie had no hope of reading. "Oh. That's not a great first. Lady Daina is always sending notes in nearly unreadable handwriting to Sir Dex who is impossible to find half the time."

"It's not the best combination," Mikoto remarked.

Hime looked more dejected than Oliver but lit up after a few seconds. "I have an idea. You can take my message and I'll take yours. I've got a pretty easy one."

"You're really not supposed to do that."

"No one cares."

Oliver sighed at them. He hasn't even known these twins for a full day, but he could tell a lot about them already. "Well, where's your letter going?"

"The main meeting hall. It's right off the front. You can't miss it." Hime instructed passing him a new message on fine paper with a detailed sealed of the crown.

"This looks pretty important. Are you sure you want me to take this?" Oliver questioned.

"Yeah! But if it's that important, then you should probably get going."

No getting out of it now. Oliver practically got pushed out the door and was left to his own devices to find this big hall. On the bright side, everyone seemed to be flocked to this center area for this particular meeting. Everyone wanted a piece of whatever was being discussed. Based on Hime, the gossip circles were strong around here.

Two guards were posted in front of the grand doors with them seeming to be the only thing keeping the crowd in check. And they were the only way in. "Hello, I have a message for the Chancellor."

One nodded to the other signaling them to open the door. Guess I have to do this one myself, Ollie thought nervously. If the serious sound of discussion was any indicator, things didn't seem the most relaxed in there. The very air carried a sharp static like the world before a thunderstorm as the guard in charge announced the runner's presents.

The entire room was still with about 14 well-dressed noblemen circling a large wooden table with an intricate map cover most of it. The leader of these proceeds sat prominently at the head of it all sporting the most high-end wardrobe of them all and glaring at... the princess. Oliver shallowed cautiously.

"Finally. Bring it here, boy." The head commanded. He quickly snapped the seal and unrolled the tannish paper. He turned back to Ollie. "You should stay here. We will need to send a letter soon."

Without much warning, the princess stood. "As I was saying, the demands of the last correspondence are unreasonable and the quote on quote ally is trying to milk our resources without actually working to a treaty. We can't keep financing this man-child."

"Flower, please sit down." The woman next to her mumbled clearly embarrassed.

"I can handle this, Lady Maika." The Chancellor stood as well to meet the princess. "Before you run your mouth, you should listen to the facts. To put it bluntly, you do not understand the standing between these kingdoms. King Howard asks for favors as a test of our strength and telling him no is a sign of weakness."

Princess Flower gave him a cold look. "Funny, I thought saying no would be an excuse to lash out his army on our land. You people are letting him blackmail you into working citizens into the ground and out of their own profits."

"What do you know of our people? You haven't been out of these grounds for close to a year."

"Well, whose fault is that?" Both the Chancellor and princess looked liked they were at the end of there ropes as Oliver tried to not be too noticeable. He could see why other, more gossipy people would want to be in here.

"It hardly matters now. We have an update from your parents, so sit down and for once listen." The anger was undisguised in his voice from the loss of his composure yet he still tried to move on like he couldn't wait for this to be over.

"Dear Lords and Ladies,

We have begun planning for peace negotiations in the coming weeks with us attempting to bring down the King's demands. As you are aware, we can't let him have more of our land and we are trying to regain claim to our occupied territory. That is our utmost priority.

Part of the King's requests is a visit to our court. He wishes to see the class and tact of our subjects and we need to be able to come forward with our best. King Howard with be departing for the palace on the 23rd and it is expected that he is welcomed with as much grace and hospitality as possible. This is a final step before this can all be settled.

One aspect of this trip is for King Howard to meet Princess Flower and understand the next generation of leadership. She must be prepared accordingly.

Other documents of importance should be arriving shortly after this letter and we hope this finds you in good health.

\- King and Queen Gynoid"

At that moment, Flower kicked her chair out and storm out of the room. The color was slowly draining from her face for the entirety of the reading, but that last bit was the last straw. Even if Oliver was kind of scare of her, he couldn't help but feel bad for her position.


	4. Chapter 4

What the hell were they thinking, Flower thought as she was just barely keeping her screaming internal as she stormed back to her room. The last thing she needed was the curious stares of the castle staff adding to her current situation. She of course recognized that it probably looked really bad to have the freaking crowned princess walking out of a council meeting in a huff, but Flower could not deal with this level of catering to this stupid man-child called a king.

This foreign guy has only been causing problems since he showed up including but not limited to, ransacking outer towns and straight-up playing dumb to it. To put things lightly, it's infuriating. Especially since now, Flower is forced to make nice with the guy without even get a word in edgewise. Why does she never get any say in her life!

Though, not like there's much she can do, but pace around and ditch the torture contraption strapped to her called a dress. Thinking back, this whole situation definitely wasn't her best idea. Maika is probably freaking out and the idiotic chancellor is having an absolute field day. Flower definitely did feel bad about the chaos she caused, but she felt fully justified in her actions.

Well, maybe not with the messenger kid. He looked completely shell shocked the entire time and he did nothing to deserve that fate outside of being extremely unlucky. Flower did kind of leave him in the middle of her mess. Probably should say sorry about that.

Welp, no time like the present. Flower poked her head out of her chambers to check for staff. It seemed like the meeting was still underway meaning that few people were wandering around to judge and comment on the "hot-headed" princess sulking about. On the bright side, when Flower ditched the fancy apparel, people were much less likely to give her a second glance. It was almost like she could disappear into the shuffle which was perfect for a stop by the servant's wing.

Taking a wide arch around the meeting hall for pretty obvious reasons, Flower hurried over to the small lounge area of the east part of the grounds. It's been way too long since she's paid it a visit. The space didn't have the same over the top detailing as the rest of the palace, but it more than made up for that by its warm homeness. No one really cared what your background was as long as you didn't disturb the peace and dang, did Flower try not to.

Most people that stayed here were already out, but a certain blue and pink haired gender-ambiguous individual seemed to be a notable exception. "Hey, Mikoto...how are ya?" Sorry for not stopping by in three freaking weeks, Flower noted to herself.

Mikoto just shrugged. "Pretty good. People have been running around like chickens with their heads cut off."

"I feel that. It's been crazy around here with the diplomat from hell." Flower replied. The Meika twins have been keeping Flower sane through all of this with them (mostly Hime) actually wanting to listen to her explaining the court proceeding and letting Flower mentally figure them out herself in the process. It's therapeutic and entertaining in a way.

"I guess that could be part of it. A lot of stuff is people in some nearby towns going nuts about the taxes."

"You can blame Fancy-pants for that."

"Yeah, but the people don't know that." They glanced dryly over at the now sitting princess as they spoke. "Can't blame them for that."

Flower glare at the ground. "I know. The nobles are being dumb by not letting everyone know what's happening. It won't be long before the press are right at our doorstep demanding answers."

"And we all understand that they'll blame all the people here that had nothing to do with it."

"Precisely." Why hadn't Flower stopped here sooner? These people are chill and not politically charged 24/7. Also considering that Flower's practically adopted Hime and Mikoto by now.

"So, with all that, I'm guessing you had a reason for coming here." You really can't hide stuff from this kid.

"Can't I just visit every once in a while?" Mikoto didn't look super impressed. "Ok, you're right. There was one runner that delivered a letter to the council meeting and he kind of got caught in the middle of something and I just wanted to see if he's ok."

Mikoto muttered something that sounded like 'stupid twin.' "I know who you're talking about."

"Wait, you do?" Did the kid already spill the drama?

"Yeah. Hime gave this new kid their delivery because it was easy to find without considering what they were sending him into." They explained.

Flower grimaced a little. "Not a great idea. Do you know where he is?"

"He's in the back." Mikoto lifted off of their spot to one of the back halls. "Come on."

"Thanks."

\-------------------------------------------------------

Hime's chatter could be heard from a mile away with Oliver interjecting whenever they took a breath. It's nice that someone's taking time to show him the ropes even though this is a bit more spit-fire than he would have liked. Eh, still helpful.

"You have to tell me what happened in there! No one ever gets into those things." Hime stated excitedly.

Oliver froze, gathering his thoughts. "It was interesting. I don't have much context, but it sounded like a king was demanding a trip to here and the princess was not happy about it." Well, she looked like she hated the idea, but Oliver didn't want to talk about that bit.

"Clearly. The dumb king has been a pain for such a long time always asking for crazy gifts." Hime noted like she'd heard first hand.

"Wait, is that way taxes have been crazy in town?"

Hime shrugged. "Of course. This dude's been asking a lot of the kingdom's resources and the council has been refusing to cut him off last I heard. Flower has been trying to convince them for months to at least tell the public about it."

Ok, wait a minute. That could be an absolute game-changer at home. Most people simply want information on the taxes and all that jazz and now Ollie's got it. Take that Fukase, this job was helpful! Though one thing still sounded off. "So the princess specifically has been asking for that?"

"Yeah. I mean, this council thing is supposed to help the public."

Olie nodded. "I know. It's just that the princess seems a little scary."

Hime was about to formulate a response when another voice cut in. "Hey Oliver, you've got a visitor." Oliver turned to the sound of Mikoto standing in the doorway to his "room" where he was bunking with the twins. In that action, the last thing he excepted to see was the flipping princess.

Ollie's head when straight into panic mode with a full chorus of no no no no no no no no no no and heck, did she hear that last part looping in the background. His first full thought was that the angry lady with the scary eyes is in his space. Full disclosure, Oliver guessed that he looked like a complete deer in the spotlight.

The moment with slightly broken by a now very hyped Hime springing up to meet the princess with a bear hug. "I miss you too." Princess Flower smiled breaking up her serious demeanor.

Now Ollie was simply confused. He could admit that she looked a lot less intimidating without the crushing atmosphere of the meeting hall and her decorated gown and she looked well, normal. The big question was why.

"Why haven't you been here lately?" Hime asked poking out from her huggle.

"It's been crazy busy. I can't help that."

"Fine." Hime huffed. "You said you wanted to talk to Ollie?"

She glanced over at the blond as he shrunk back a little into his bed alongside the wall. What could she want? "Ummm...yep. I just wanted to say sorry."

Ollie's eyes widened. "Why?"

"I'm sorry that you got cause in the middle of that meeting especially since your new."

Flower actually appeared bashful; one of the last things the boy associated with this princess. "But you're royalty. You don't really have to apologize to me."

"My parent may run this place, but that doesn't give me the right to be a jerk." Flower remarked as she took a seat on the bed across from him. "Also, no need for the whole 'princess' bit. I'm in your area right now."

"Ok, I guess." Today is just full of surprises.

"Well, would you guys mind filling us in on the context?" Mikoto questioned as everyone now was forming a loose ring right in the center of the small bedroom.

"I might have walked out of a council meeting."

"You did what!?" Hime exclaimed with Mikoto give them a sharp look. "The Chancellor's gonna be furious."

"I know. He was."

Mikoto shook his head at the two. "Y'know that's not a good thing."

"Like that's ever stopped me."

Oliver was quiet. Here he was listening to literal royalty talking casually with his roommates and being kind of relax. He could barely place where those rumor for home even came from. This girl was actually kind of nice and it's not like the taxes were her fault, but that still did leave Oliver wondering about one thing.

"Why has no one seen you in so long?"

Flower stopped in her tracks; her posture becoming rigid and her eyes going sharp. "My 'guardians' wouldn't let me. They said the people are restless and would hurt me." Her voice had adopted a bitter tone like this whole thing was a sore subject.

"No one would randomly hurt you. At least not in my area." Ollie stated. There would be some distrust, but no one's crazy enough to be violent.

"Tell that to Maika and Yohio. They're convinced that I'd drop dead if I left here."

Mikoto scoffed. "I think that'd apply to staying here as well. Hime gonna drive us all insane after too long."

"Rude." The rest of the group laughed at Hime's played up annoyance. Oliver had to admit, this is nothing like what he planned for, but he's not complaining. Maybe some rumors are best left untrue.


	5. Chapter 5

"Miki, does Piko have a lot of stops today?" Fukase asked, stepping into their stone-walled house. It was a smaller place with the best furnishing being Miki's sewing table in the front and a decently functioning cooking area. Though, Fukase knew that they all were insanely lucky to have it. Four basically kids maintaining a house was unheard of and yet here they are, busy trying not to fall into the red.

"He should be back soon. You know that he can be a bit chatty." Miki remarked over her delicate stitching.

Fukase rolled his eyes. This is not the day to take a long time with work. "Yeah. Hopeful he won't look like he plowed into a trash can." For whatever reason, Piko was allergic to staying clean on his runs and it really made his self-proclaimed job of getting Fuka out of trouble a lot harder.

"I make him change if needed, but I doubt he'd be that out of it today." Miki said as she picked up her current project to get a closer look at the ripped seam. "He wants to see Ollie much as we do."

"I know." It was already the end of Oliver's first week of work and that goof probably has a million stories to tell. He's always getting himself in the weirdest situation via the power of pure bad luck. It's almost impressive.

As if on cue, Piko dipped in out of breath and looking completely windswept. "Sorry. The streets are kind of crazy today. It looks like some people are trying to flood the palace with messages and it's causing everyone to be out way earlier than normal."

"Bold of them to assume that those people read their letters and Piko, you are in desperate need of a comb." Fukase commented.

"Figures." Piko slipped into the backroom to probably steal Miki's brush. The goal here is to have Oliver see that his peoples are doing just fine and that he does need to worry about them, not to make it seem like some people got caught in a windstorm. "Anyway, does anyone know when Ollie is supposed to be back?"

Miki shrugged. "It should be soon. It wouldn't make much sense for him to come back and only have a few hours before leaving again."

"Okay. Is there anything else we need to do." It was clear that Piko wanted to help somehow, but Fukase and Miki had it covered with them being up not long after their resident early bird. It was evident that no one could really sleep the night before.

"Not really. We tried to clean up, but there's only so much we can do." Fukase answered. "If we're lucky, there should be enough time to catch the afternoon rush. You know the guards can't escape Ollie's puppy dog eyes."

Both siblings gave Fukase a dry look. "No way. Now that Oliver working at the castle, he cannot in any way be apart of your little schemes." Miki stated.

"Oh, come on. You know I wouldn't let him get in trouble."

"You mean, I wouldn't let either of you get in trouble." Piko corrected.

Fukase pointed him a slight glare. "You've only done that twice at most."

"Sure. Maybe I should start keeping track." Miki said not even trying to hide her a snark in her voice. Piko has had to get Fukase out of some pretty close calls more times than he would like to admit, but none of them can deny that he brings in his share. The only problem is the fuzz are starting to catch on, especially with the public getting restless as of last. It's not like it's his fault that the head honchos have decided that them 'common folk' can't handle an update on whatever these people are doing with their funds. Fukase would be lying if he said that he wasn't a little annoyed.

"I'll do without, thanks."

"What are you doing without?" A high pitched voice asked.

All heads turned around to the small boy standing in the doorway. Let the hugs commence. It was only a week away, but these guys had practically raised this kid, so they get some embarrassing parental rights.

"Okay, spill." Fukase prompted.

Oliver made his way to his part of the back and dropped off his satchel that seemed to have folded clothing of a bright red. Not quite Fuka's hair red, but getting there. "At least I know I'm not bugging you by sharing."

"Of course not and don't think I didn't notice the tailored uniform, so yeah. Spill." Everyone knew that Miki was pretty chill, but she had really wanted to get her hands on some good castle sewing for a while.

Oliver pulled a neat and distinctive uniform out and passed it over to Miki. "Go nuts."

"Thank you very much."

"With that out of the way, what's going on in fancy palace land?" Piko questioned motioning the rest of the group to sit on their lined up pallet beds covered in lined cotton blankets.

"It's really nice! The messengers are really close-knit and showed me the ropes fast."

"Cool, but this is barely scratching the surface." Fukase said now picking at his sheets.

Oliver sighed. "You just want castle drama, don't you?"

"Yep."

Oliver couldn't escape all of this. No one had any real idea of what was going on with the crown and it's pretty rare for nobles to find healthy (and functional) workers in this town with half the citizens have zero interest in taking those jobs. He had the info and Fukase needed that gossip for getting around in the market. It's a win-win.

"Fine. I do have some really important news. I found out why the taxes are crazy." A collective breath was drawn in around the room. "Apparently, that diplomatic mission that the King and Queen were going on is still happening, but it's not going very well. The ruler they're working with keeps demanding gifts that they need to get extra money to do it and that only way to get the cash was taxing us."

That was not the news everyone expected. Fuka was preparing for who the nobles were sweet on, not a casual 'hey, this is where the bank-breaking tax collectors were coming from.' Miki and Piko were both wide-eyed. Their work was going to another bratty ruler. "How the hell did you find this out and why are we just hearing about this now?" Piko asked.

"Well, these people probably didn't want everyone to know that they were getting bullied out of their resources, and as a runner, you get to hear a lot. The princess herself wanted me to get the word out!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Fukase responded being the most now concerned. Why was the freaking princess crossing path with a tiny running child?

"She wanted the public to know what's going on and she hasn't been able to convince the others to officially make an announcement."

"So, she's resorted to kids visiting home to get the word out?" Piko's gaze shifted uneasily and Fukase shared the feeling.

"It not like that. I delivered a letter to a meeting where they were talking about all of this, so I heard it first hand. I would have told you guys anyways." Ollie defended.

Miki's posture was growing more ridged by the second. "Wait, so you got sent into a high profile meeting of officials in your first week? Are these people insane?"

"No! I think you guys are missing the point."

"Sorry, but this sounds pretty crazy. You just happened to meet the princess that hasn't been seen in a year and her telling you to past rumors in town. That sounds like a real easy way to get in trouble." Fukase said knowing how ironic that was coming from him.

"How would I be getting in trouble?"

"Ok, listen. Fukase has a point." Piko started glaring at Fuka so he'd know this wasn't the time to butt in. "We don't fully know what the princess's motives are, so we can't go flying off the handle quite yet. Maybe one of us could go with you one of these days to check things?"

Oliver started to say something but was swiftly cut off by Fukase. "Great idea. Thanks for volunteering."

"I was really offering myself for the--"

Miki interrupted. "No need. We can't exactly send self-proclaimed Robin Hood in and I'm swamped for work this week. You're kind of the only person we can send."

"Or you could not send anyone." Oliver commented.

"Not happening, though if Piko said that everything's good up there, we'll leave you alone about it." Miki offered. Not gonna lie, it sounded like a pretty good deal.

"Fine, now can we please move on." Ollie hopped off his bed to the front of the house. As freaking cliche as it was, all of them could tell that Oliver was really starting to come into his own. He stood a little taller and spoke his mind a bit more.

"Sure, just don't be dumb."

"Of course."


	6. Chapter 6

Ok, what am I supposed to do here, Piko asked himself as Oliver led him through the twist and turns of the grand palace. How Ollie was able the navigate through this thing so quickly was beyond him. Oliver was always better with finding his way around and moving around fast, but he'd only been here for a week. These people must have been some good teachers.

Piko could tell that he'd probably be spending his time in the runners' quarters trying not to get in anyone's way and all that jazz. There's not exactly much for him to check and he highly doubted that he'd be running into the princess to verify her statements. At least Ollie did seem to know what he was doing. If it comes to it, Piko can just tell the guys at home that everything is ok and ease their worries about all of this.

"'Kay, our space is just down this hall and to the right. They want to have messengers pretty close to the front, so people can get their letters sent without much of a distance." Oliver noted as they hurried down a window lit corridor. At this point, everything was still bathed in the morning's glowing light and most of the staff was just heading out.

"Makes sense. I'm guessing you share rooms with someone?" Piko prompted.

Oliver nodded, smiling. "Yep. Hime and Mikoto are great roommates and really take care of our area." Piko's mind flashed to Fukase's unkempt corner of their room that no one could get him to clean even with the utmost of bribery. Ollie's lucky in that regard.

"Sounds good."

Silence lingered in between the two in a thick layer of awkwardness. Ollie clearly did not like a willowy shadow following him for the day and Piko thought he was the last good person for this job. Not exactly the best combo. Oliver earnestly wanted to show that he can be independent and that he can handle this, but he's still a kid and they can't prepare him for everything, so this is the best compromise.

"So, this is the main area where people drop off their letters." Oliver gestured broadly to a fairly tidy room with a wall of cubed holes on one side and a few ratty chairs lining the other. A table was placed in the center with paper, pens, and ink laid out presumably for those with a quick note to get out. "It looks like everyone's still in the back."

The boy led into a simple hall with mostly opened doors to various suites. Oliver ducked into one of the closed ones with Piko right behind.

"Hey, could you squeal into Hime's ear or something. They're not getting up and they get cranky without breakfast." A similarly small runner asked from the bedside of what looked like their sibling. Piko went out on a limb and concluded that this was probably Mikoto.

Oliver shook his head. "I am not getting involved in that, but try to get them up because I have someone you both should meet."

"I'm guessing it's the pale dude behind you." Mikoto stated looking up from their task.

"Yep. This is Piko." Piko waved not knowing what to say. This was one of Ollie's friends. The fact that he was even able to click with these people so fast was kind of fascinating.

"Ok. Why?"

No beating around the bush there. "My family didn't believe the stuff with Flower, so they sent Piko to check it out. They can be a bit protective."

"I'm right here." He commented. Bluntness seemed to be the order of the day for some reason.

"I know. I'm mostly referring to Fukase and Miki."

"Fair."

Mikoto continued nudging their sibling's arm and Piko moved out of the doorway to look a little less like a human totem pole. "They just want to be up to date with what the hell happens here. It's not like we get much information about the castle's inner workings and all that."

"Sure. Most of us don't have any family close by, so there's not a lot of reporting home happening about this place." With one good push, the once sleeping figure opened their eyes.

"I'm awake, ok?" The person, Hime, sat up as they quickly registered the beanpole of a person that wasn't normally in their room. "Who's that guy?"

"That's Piko. He's a family member." Oliver introduced again.

"Nice to meet you. When Ollie said he was going home for the weekend I didn't think he'd bring someone back." Hime swung out of their covers and smoothed down their now fluffy pigtails. "You look nothing alike."

"Yeah...We live in the same house but aren't ummm...biologically related." It's always weird to explain their ragtag group of a family/people that live together especially those that sound a little too interested in the topic.

Hime didn't look phased in the slightest. "Ok. Well, you guys need to get out for a bit."

"Why?"

"I need to change. Now shoo. I'll meet you at breakfast in a bit." Hime pushed the trio out the door. Once again with the bluntness.

"They seem...nice." Piko remarked not really knowing what to do now.

Mikoto shrugged. "You get used to it."

The group continue to what Piko assumed was breakfast. The smell of fruit and actually fresh bread filled the halls that (sorry Miki) puts home cooking to shame. Suddenly Oliver's job seemed a lot better.

"Hey Piko, I need you to show you something." Ollie called back from the front of the group. He stood by a large partially opened door that frankly looked too fancy for one to just be peeking in, but still Piko met him there.

The opening led to an expansive courtyard with vivid greens decorating the landscape in between the snaking weathered paths that met in the middle of the outdoor area. Some people milled around the outer walkways and a sizable group of guards with what looked like their squires took up the most center space. They appeared stiff like they were all on duty, though no one could take on this many combat-trained knights no matter how hard they tried.

A few people did stand out. Two neatly groomed officials stood among the armored forms, one sporting long, white to pink ponytails and a pressed sky-blue gown and the other being a tall, pale blond man with ashy gray attire that matched his eyes. Despite that, they weren't really the people the took Piko's breath.

That honor came down to a girl a few good inches taller than him that looked 110 percent done with everything around her. Her sharp violet eyes scanned the room as she brushed her similarly snowy hair out of her view. Not gonna lie, Piko knew he was staring. He'd never seen the princess before due to his power of really bad timing, so this was insanely far from his expectations. What does Ollie want him to do now?

"Ummm...Why are we here? It sounds like these people are having important business that we probably shouldn't be eavesdropping on." Piko questioned.

"You can ask Flower about what she told me. Fuka would believe you more than me."

Crud, he has a point. "How do you know that we won't get in trouble for listening?"

"You won't." Mikoto butted in. "The courtyard is a public space. You could go in and sit down if you wanted to."

"Yeah. Not doing that."

In a few seconds, the lingering chatter had completely quieted and one of the advisers spoke up so all of them could hear. "As some of you know, a particular visiter will be coming here soon and security of the princess, when she is with him, is our top priority. Due to that, it has been decided that for the time being she will need a personal guard and due to that person being around her for an extended time, we have asked her to pick someone." The girl in question scowled at the statement but lit up a little at the last part.

"And she can pick anyone except a squire." The other person noted causing a golden-haired boy to droop down.

The princess's stare was picking through the group in a calculating manner as Piko noticed that no other people were left in the garden. Her eyes connected with Piko's and she smirked a little. Piko's spine straightened and his eyes looked to point anywhere else. Oh, crud...

"I pick him." She gestured at the entrance.

The lady glanced over there and back to the lanky girl. "You've got to be kidding me."

"You said I could pick anyone that's not a squire and he doesn't look like a squire to me." Princess Flower shot back. Is Oliver sure this is the nice princess he met because she is five seconds away from giving Piko a panic attack.

"That's clearly not what I meant."

The blond adviser cleared his throat. "It is what you said."

"Are you seriously siding with her on this one?"

"Yep."

As the pale teen was hyperventilating in a doorway, the rest of the guards held back a laugh at what was basically an argument characteristic of an old married couple. If Piko wasn't in his little situation, he would have thought it was pretty funny too.

After a hushed conversation and a long sigh from the blue-clad woman, she waved for Piko to come over to their spot. Welp, time to die.


	7. Chapter 7

Flower, why is making Maika lose her mind so amusing to you and Maika, why are you so bad with wording, Yohio mentally questioned. Now the trio had this random, scrawny albino on their hands and no real back up plan because Yohio wasn't about to be the reason for half the palace being left unguarded for an afternoon. This place had to be secure with old 'I was a prince for 50 gosh dang years' stopping by and Maika freaking out about it. Personally, Yohio wasn't all that worried. What can one guy really pull off in someone else's land?

In fact, that was the only reason he was letting Flower get away with the whole thing. She's not really going to need that protection anyways, so might as well let her have someone closer to her age to talk to for the time being. The big problem was that this kid had no clue what he'd just been volunteered for. Well, more like voluntold in all honesty.

A group consisting of the aforementioned very confused kid, a very tired woman, and a guy that just wanted to get this worked out and take a nap was led away to the back offices. Flower was kindly asked to stay out of this one, so the advisers needed to find a more private space. The pale teen gave a panicked look to his two friends that were hidden further in the courtyard and followed along as well.

"I'm very sorry about this." Maika stated from behind her desk littered in papers and notes. The boy sat across from her with Yohio standing to the side, the space being lit by a window behind Makia's head making it appear like she was glowing. It had to be at least a little intimidating. "We simply want to explain this mishap."

The kid nodded. Yohio could clearly see that both of these people were on the verge of two very different breakdowns and not wanting to handle that today, he decided to cut the tension. "We promise that you aren't in any trouble here. Flower just isn't a big fan of the whole personal guard plan and wanted to mess with us."

Maika shot him a look. "I guess that's accurate enough, but what we need to go over is why. A leader from a neighboring kingdom will be visiting soon as you know, but the problem is that he's shown particular interest in the princess. We don't know what he is capable of doing, but having someone to keep an eye on her and that king would ease some of our concerns."

"I seem like the last person for this job. You're better off getting the princess to pick an actual guard, not me." The teen said uncomfortably.

"We said she could pick anyone and it's not like she's going to need a lot of protection. Just having someone there is enough to stop most plans." Yohio explained.

The kid shifted in his seat. "But I have no qualifications."

"That doesn't really-"

"Maika, can I speak to him?" Yohio cut off. Maika was usually professional, but today she was reaching the end of her patience fast.

She glared at him. "Be my guest." The door closed ambiently behind her.

"So, I never got your name."

"It's Piko."

Piko looked to the ground and started fidgeting with the hem of his off white shirt and dark coat. Yohio couldn't deny how weird all of this was. This guy had no clue what he was getting into today by being in a freaking courtyard and now he's getting offered a part-time job as a knight. How the turntables, indeed.

"I was wondering why you were here today. I've never seen you around before." Yohio nudged. Time to use whatever diplomat skills he'd learned from Maika in the past few years.

"I was just visiting some family that worked here." He paused, considering his next words. "He recently started his job and we want to know if things were going well."

Yohio thought back to the group of people with Piko that afternoon. Mikoto was there, but they're hardly new and they never really talk about their family outside of Hime. Though, there was one other person with the bunch that did look kind of familiar. He guessed that the small blond was probably the family in question.

"He said that he heard some big news from the princess herself and that was a bit worrying for us at home. We didn't want him getting mixed up in extra drama." Ok, now the familiarity was starting to make sense. Poor kid had to start his day by walking into hostile war council times.

Yohio reasoned that this wouldn't be the best time to bring that up. "Makes sense. With everything that's been going on, people have been pretty worked up. Maika and Flower have been incredibly stressed lately."

"The princess didn't look that stressed to me." Piko's tone didn't change much, but a little bitterness sneaked in.

"Well, it's not super easy to be told that you have to spend time with a creepy old guy for the fate of your kingdom."

"She still didn't need to drag me into it. Heck, she straight up smirked at me." The boy flushed a bit. "She knew exactly what she was doing there."

Yohio sighed. Flower, why do you do these things? "She probably didn't think her plan would get this far. As for dragging you in, Flower would've picked anyone in that area but the people we were offering just to mess with us. She doesn't get a lot of say around here, so when she gets a chance to do her own thing, she takes it to the fullest."

"Not much of an excuse."

Flower, seriously, why? "Can we make a deal here?" Yohio offered. Piko was already chosen for this thing, but he'd much rather have him do this out of his own free will. Piko looked over for Yohio to continue. "How about giving this a test run tonight and if you truly hate it, you can go and we'll pick someone else. I do think you'll change your mind about Flower, but she's someone you need to, well... get to know first." The boy didn't quite look convinced. "I'll pay you as well."

Piko was quiet, thinking over his options. "Fine." He caved.

Yohio smiled. "Thank you. You've just saved us a serious headache."


	8. Chapter 8

Piko watched as the princess entered her room without a word. Yohio had explained his job pretty clearly and all he had to do was stand outside and keep watch. Nothing too hard, except for the fact that Piko could feel the tension of the castle at night with the stark fact that he had no clue what he was doing. If a random assassin showed up, the staff would probably have two corpses on their hands. Morbid, yes, but very true.

He stared out into the nearly pitch-black space from his post. Piko was sent down there not too long ago with most of the time before being dedicated to him explaining all of this to Oliver and Piko trying to figure out where this girl's room was anyway. In fact, Piko hadn't even said a word to the girl in question with her getting straight to her business and not giving him a second glance. At least it was only one night. Maybe even less than that.

An hour passed before he was 100% sure that it was far into the night and he could leave. There was a back exit by Ollie's room that looked like it wasn't guarded at night that he could slip out of in a pinch and if he was fast, Piko could get home and back before anyone was awake. He really needed a second opinion on all of this and Fukase and Miki were probably freaking out that he wasn't back yet.

Piko crept away from the ornate door only to hear a loud crack come from it that felt completely out of place in the close to silent wing. He stopped dead in his tracks.

Pale light slipped out from the slightly open door and a similarly pale person glanced into the dark scanning the corridor in a plain nightgown. Flower's eyes widen at the sight of the small teen a good ten feet from his place as she straightened her posture. It was little like she wanted to say, 'I definitely am suppose to be out here,' though Piko knew better.

"What are you doing?" Piko asked trying to sound more officially than he was.

"I thought you were asleep. I wanted to check." Flower replied stiffly.

Sure, that's what she was doing and Piko was about to get a midnight snack. "I wouldn't do that, but now that you know, you can go back to bed." This girl wasn't about to get Piko in trouble because she wanted to sneak around at night.

"I could, but what are you doing?"

Crud. "I...needed to check something." Smooth. Very smooth.

"So, you weren't about to leave? I thought I heard a little mumbling about going home out here." The princess noted. Was he really thinking out loud when keeping quiet was so important?

"Wait, why were you listening through the door?" There's no way she could have heard him unless she was pressed up against her door and trying to listen for something. Piko's never that loud even when lost in thought.

Flower was quiet now fully stepping out of her room. "Fine. You caught me, but seriously, where were you going?"

"I just really need to go somewhere."

"The aforementioned home, I'm guessing."

There's no real point in trying to deny it. She freaking heard him say exactly what his plan was. "Ummm...yeah. I have to tell my family what's going on with all of this." Maybe she'll take pity on him.

"Oh. So you're going into town? Can I tag along?" Flower had a look of mischief in her eyes like this what she was waiting for her entire life and no way was she going to let it go.

Piko was taken back a little. "No. I don't feel like getting charged with kidnapping royalty today." And Fukase would lose his mind if the person he pinned distrust on with brought into his house with no warning.

"Of course you wouldn't get charged with kidnapping. It's just that we kind of need each other in this case. You won't rat me out and I won't rat you out. Simple as that." Piko still was distrustful and he made no effort to hide it. "Please? I really need to get out of here if just for a night."

Her stance was still of mock confidence, but now that didn't reach her expression. It filled with desperateness and a true need to leave. Then it finally hit Piko. This girl hasn't left the palace in nearly a year. Piko could remember days when he could hear whispers throughout the town of the royal family visiting and the notes on how the little princess was growing up so fast. He was never actually around when they were stopping by because back in those summers, time that wasn't doing delivers was dedicated to exploring every nook and cranny of the village. Of course, those rumors hadn't popped up in a long time.

Piko sighed. "Fine, but if we get caught, you have to take the blame. You can get away with this way easier than I can."

"Bold of you to assume we'll get caught." Her infamous smirk returned. This girl was going to be the death of him.

"I recommend you change into something that wouldn't get a lot of suspicions if it was dirty." Flower gave him a look. "The road down there isn't exactly clean."

With that, Flower slipped back into her room getting what he hoped was something she could run in. They didn't have a ton of time if Piko still wanted to do what he came there to do. Fukase's in for a real shock.

"'Kay, let's get going." Flower returned in a thick skirt colored navy blue and a white short-sleeved undershirt embroidered with winding leaf patterns up the sides. Piko might have been staring. "What? If I had normal pants, I'd wear them."

Piko shook his head. "No. It's not that..ummm... you know what, we should get going."

"Ok"

Flower was quick to take the lead on the way out and Piko had to admit, he wouldn't have found his way without her. The paths she set had almost no guards and the ones they did pass were fast asleep. And Piko thought he was the one slacking on his job.

Eventually, the back doorway of the servant quarters was within view as the pair tried to be as light-footed as physically possible. The average noble was a pretty heavy sleeper, but if one person down here had heard them it'd be game over and Piko really didn't feel like finding out what that meant.

Rows of door lined around them tunneling to the end. In the almost lightless space, it looked daunting and gave off the feeling that one of them would inevitably trip up and it all being over. A tightness wrapped around Piko's gut and his breath quickened. What would happen if they got stuck here? People would obviously blame him and his family would have no clue what happened to him. How could he do that to the people that needed him?

Piko stopped walking. He didn't know when but he did. His feet planted as his thoughts spiraled out of his grasp. Suddenly a hand reached out of the dark and latched onto Piko's. He stifled a gasp.

Flower's soft gaze met Piko's while she held his hand gently. Right. It would be bad for her as well if he lost it out here when they were so close. Regardless, it brought Piko back to reality.

Without letting go, the two finished the stretch to the end of the hall to a simple exit that went straight to where packages were dropped off and no guards felt the need to watch. The inky night sky welcomed them and crisp air filled their lungs with an overwhelming sense of freedom. Piko had felt like he could have been trapped in there for the rest of his life.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Just not a big fan of dark places." Piko stated now finding his voice. "We need to get running if you want to have any time in town."

Flower smiled in response. "Lead the way."

A gravel road twisted through a hilled countryside with the duo running about 10 feet off of it for the sake of not looking like a pair of runaway sprinting away from their captors. Piko hadn't had a good nighttime run in awhile and Flower was keeping up surprising well though she did have her skirt hiked up most of the time and that couldn't have been fun. Piko felt like his energy was boundless, but all too soon the glow of town lights filled the skyline.

He stopped at the top of a final valley before the true start of houses. After a few minutes, Flower caught up waiting for Piko to go a bit more into detail about the place before them, clearly being grateful to let down her armful of fabric. "Ok. We still need to be quiet. Everyone is definitely in for the night and they would not be quiet about the freaking princess paying us a visit."

"I don't think they'd recognize me." Flower said fluffing her now windswept pixie cut.

"They could figure it out. Either way, we need to keep this discreet."

"Sounds good." Flower shrugged and started walking down. This is going to be interesting.

As expected, the streets were bare with orange light reflecting from a small number of oil lamps that lined a few homes. Piko guessed that this wasn't the most exciting trip for the first time out of the castle in a year, but Flower didn't seem to care. She seemed to remember the streets well enough, finding her way to the center square. Standing in the middle, she stood in silence thinking back to her own personal memories of better times. She motioned for Piko to join her.

"Do you guys still have a big Christmas celebration here?" Flower asked curiously.

"Yeah. How could we not?" The tradition was that since most people couldn't host their own parties, the whole village would decorate the square and host a large feast with everyone chipping in a little to make it happen. Evergreen decorations covered the wooden lamp posts and various crafts hung from every place imaginable. Oliver loved that part. Miki would always make a pie and Kaito would bring whipped cream to go with. Piko and Fukase always got stuck on fire duty.

"That was really fun. You people know how to cook around here." Flower noted.

Piko racked his brain. He never remembered seeing Flower at Christmas, but he would have been getting sticks half of the time, so... "I didn't know you stopped here for the holidays. I figured people at the palace had some sort of party up there."

"Usually we do, but last year Yohio figured we needed something a little different, so he basically snuck Maika and me down here for the festivities. He looked so proud of himself the whole time."

"I can imagine. Were you there for the caroling?" Piko said bracing for the answer.

"Yep. I remember there was this one group that kept trying to sing their own parody of Silent Night." She laughed at her own memory with Piko knowing exactly what she was referring to.

Piko slumped. "I told Fukase it was a bad idea, but when did he listen to me anyway?"

"Wait, that was you guys?"

"Eh...yes."

Flower laughed needing to quickly quiet down after. "Now that was pure chaos. I would never guess you or Oliver would have been in the middle of that."

"I wouldn't either." Piko felt his face heat up. He knew taking Fukase along for the caroling group was a bad idea even if it was just biting him in the end nearly a year later. "By any chance would you like to meet that trouble maker yourself?"

The mischievous glint was back. "Did you really need to ask?"

Well, at least one of them was happy about this meeting.


	9. Chapter 9

Miki sat a little slack-jawed at the sight before her. First, her brother had disappeared for the night for no apparent reason and now he was standing in the doorway with the flipping princess of this land asking if they had any leftovers from dinner. Sorry, but the audacity of this kid. Fukase looked like he was just about ready to smack the dude upside the head and Miki was very close to letting him. To put in lightly, Piko had some serious explaining to do.

Both of their guests looked like a collective mess. The hem of Piko's pants and Flower's skirt were grass-stained with chunks of mud clinging on there for dear life and their hair was fluffed from the evening wind. It hurt Miki in her soul. Their family wasn't exactly poor, but Miki liked to have everyone seem more put together than their financial state would suggest. It stops many of the downcast stares they would get otherwise.

"I'm serious, do you guys have food? We kind of ran here and are going to have to run back." Piko explained glossing over the whole royalty thing.

Fukase was the first to break through that wall. "Why is she in our house?" He sounded peeved but he hadn't pushed them out the door yet, so that's good.

"Don't get on his case about it. I asked to come with because it's not like I've been able to wander around recently." Princess Flower said defensively.

"So, you put Piko in danger because you wanted out?"

Piko sighed. "It's not her fault. I was going to come here anyway and I don't think I would have made it here without her."

Now that was new. Piko never went as far as Fukase on the topic of the royal family, but he still wasn't exactly a fan either. Essentially, defending the princess was unheard of. "Fukase, just hear them out before jumping to conclusions."

"Fine, but you can hear out Your Royal Highness." He sulked to the backroom with Piko in tow leaving the two girls to their own devices. Ok...how does one talk to someone of that high status without sounding like an idiot or a master speaking of the obvious? Even beat up royalty is more than a little intimidating particularly in her little house of wood and chaos. Miki was really starting to wish that she'd cleaned up unfinished projects before the surprise company.

Flower cleared her throat. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to put Piko in danger."

"It's ok. I completely believe that Piko would have come here on his own and knowing how he is, he'd probably start freaking out and never get past the first hall." Miki guessed, mostly joking. Flower tensed. "Though, I am curious. Why was he supposed to be there overnight?"

"Now that's completely my fault." Flower admitted. She seemed introspective now than when Fuka was in here; defensive in the way of fire she guessed. "I needed to pick a guard for the visit of a particular guest and Piko happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. I wanted to pick anyone but the people my guardians offered and he happened to be there, so..."

"And your guardians just let you pick a random person?"

"Basically. They wanted me to learn a lesson and Piko got caught in the middle. He was supposed to try being a guard for the night and then decide if he would do the job for the next few weeks." She explained.

"I get the feeling he's not great at it." Miki noted.

Flower shrugged just starting to smile. "Works in my favor."

"Do you know if he'll actually take the job? It sounds like there aren't a lot of qualifications involved." Miki asked.

"I don't think so. He's got a job here from what I've heard and who would want to be glued to my hip for a month? I'm pretty sure guards were celebrating when a random civilian was picked instead of them."

"But you seem like a bundle of joy." Sarcasm laced Miki's voice.

"I'm sure this little trip is clear proof."

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, knight-boy. Start talking." Fukase wasted no time getting to the point. Did Piko really think he could just waltz in here princess in tow and have everyone be perfectly okay with that? He certainly looked like that realization was dawning on him.

"Well, I was with Oliver and we were getting breakfast."

"Eat the castle food while you can, smart."

"Oliver and his friends wanted to check on something that was going on in the courtyard and I happened to be a little too close to the entrance, so I might have got caught in the middle of Flower choosing a bodyguard for the next few weeks." Piko couldn't have let out more awkwardness if he tried.

"So the girl picked the first twink she saw?" Fukase questioned. This really isn't putting things in their favor.

Piko looked off to the side away from his interrogator. "It sounds a lot worse when you put it that way."

"How can it sound better?"

"Well, I only need to do this for one night and they would have paid me and I could go home after that with no strings attached. It was a pretty good deal." He defended.

"Then why did you need to come here?" Deep down, Fuka knew he would have been freaking out if Piko didn't show up until tomorrow, but he would rather die than tell Piko that at this moment. He's mad at him right now.

"I...just wanted a second opinion."

"Wait. You were thinking about taking the job!?"

Piko still didn't meet his eyes. "...Maybe"

Does this person want to get slapped? That twig wouldn't last a minute if an intruder showed up. As much as Piko does get him out of tight spots, Fukase has seen some close calls where he was 90% sure that Peeks would have been beat up if they didn't get out of there fast. If someone was trying to shank the princess, a skinny teen wouldn't be able to stop them. "You are out of your mind."

"Come on. It would be the easiest job any of us have ever taken and I can keep an eye on Oliver in the meantime." Piko tried to reason.

"At the cost of being at Miss Flower's side 24/7? Are really sure you want to do that to yourself?"

"She's really not as bad as you make her out to be."

"She could have started a riot around here in the middle of the night and she could have avoided all of that if her Highness had just visited like a normal person about 5 months ago. No need to drag you in then." Fukase didn't want his peoples to get hurt trying to help this random person born into power. It's not worth it.

Piko stood up and started pacing exasperatedly. "Don't you think she would have done that if she could? Flower isn't allowed to leave because the surrounding town would riot and it would cause chaos. She physically can't leave. Sorry that I feel bad that she can't do anything about her situation."

Pity when it comes to Piko is a very effective tactic. He can't help wanting to bailing someone out of a bad situation even at his own expense. Fuka could respect that though he could never do it himself. "Sometimes you can be too nice. She's a princess. I think she can get through without you having to give up your time."

"Probably, but I also don't think she deserves to get stuck with some grumpy knight for the next month. She only needs a guard for a visiting ruler. I would mostly be for show."

"I can tell I'm not talking you out of this."

Piko plopped down next to him. "Nope."

"Talking who out of what?" Fukase's deadpan glare returned as the girls entered the bedroom space. Just because Piko could do what he wanted doesn't mean Fuka was going to suddenly ok with people walking into his house uninvited.

"I'm going to tell your advisers that I'll take the job."

Flower looked at Piko completely dumbfounded. "What? I pulled you into my mess. Why would you choose to stay there?"

"I was asking the same question." Fukase commented.

"Y'know, I really thought the person behind the carols from hell would be a bit more chill." Flower responded to the snark.

Fukase shot Piko a sharp glare. "Why would you tell her that?"

"You said it was one of your proudest moments. I thought you wouldn't mind."

Miki laughed at the collective pettiness. "I think I get why those two didn't get along. They're basically the same person."

"Truer words have never been spoken."

"Stay out of this Peeks." Fukase's pride could only take so much.

Now Flower was having her own chuckles. "Peeks? Sorry, fearless bodyguard, but you're never escaping that one."

Fuka gave him an evil yet triumphant look. "How's that for a proud moment?"

"Pretty good if you ask me." Flower replied. "I think you'll be having a very good few weeks."

"I can always take my offer back."

"Nope, you're locked in now." Fukase had to admit, if she was going to keep Piko on his game like this, maybe things won't be so bad. Though there still is an opportunity to be made here and who is Fukase to pass up an opportunity.

"Well, before everyone gets ahead of themselves, I do have a request." Fukase stated as if he was mocking a nobleman's tone. The group turned their attention to him. "I only ask that Miki and I could stop by the castle to visit our dear Piko and Oliver."

"Do you really want castle food that badly?" Piko asked.

"Of course."

Flower was quick to share his troublesome smirk. "I think that can be arranged."

"Then, it's a deal."


	10. Chapter 10

"Wait, they're coming today?" Oliver asked, thoroughly confused. After Piko got a job at the palace, Ollie hadn't really seen him, so it was hard for him to wrap his head around all that had happened in that short of a timespan. He was definitely happy that now his family would have two consistent incomes and enough to get through as Flower calls it, "King Fancybottoms' spending habits" and maybe even convince Fuka to stop stealing from pockets. Even with Oliver's little kid-esk cuteness on his side, local guards were starting to get very suspicious of the duo.

Oliver did have one worry amidst the pros. If they had a stable amount of funds and the taxes went down, would Oliver leave his job? He didn't want to quit. Of course, he loved his family back home; that was a given, but he also loved his friends here. They were nice and didn't care that he might not be the most street-smart or experienced. Heck, even the nobles trusted him despite knowing him for a limited time. It proved to himself, Oliver liked being someone that others could depend on and now that was something he could be for people here and at home.

But now that wasn't exactly the task at hand. "Fukase and I had a deal and with the godforsaken royal visit coming up, those two wouldn't have been able to stop by any other time without getting in the way of prep work." Flower explained directly with a slight amount of salt.

"I kind of just told her advisors that my family was curious about the castle and they essentially took pity on me." Piko added.

"Also, I might have gotten the ok from Yohio before telling Maika about the plan."

Now that explains it. Ollie had only seen Flower's surrogate mom a few times and he got the clear idea that she would never agree to this if it was just up to her. "Ok then. Sounds fun."

"I recommend hiding anything on you that's valuable or else you'll probably never see it again." Piko commented.

"As if I wear anything valuable by my freewill." She snarked back.

"Umm, have you looked in the mirror recently?"

"I think you'll tell me if there's a need."

The two Meika twins were still gathering their things during the exchange when Mikoto rolled their eyes. "Could you two quit flirting?"

Both of the people in question went bright pink and Oliver bit back a laugh. Everyone could agree that a flustered Piko was amazing to see and Ollie didn't think he could ever find the sharp-tongued girl caught in her tracks. Today was full of surprises, he thought just a bit smugly.

Flower was first to get her bearings. "Well then maybe you and Hime don't want to use the day off I got you."

"They're sorry." Hime piped in. They lightly smacked the back of their sibling's head for effect.

"Though, you don't deny that it's flirting."

"Oliver, stay out of this." Piko stated through a sigh.

Hime spoke up next, probably trying to stop Mikoto from causing their day off privileges to be revoked with another remark. "So...Why did you get us all a free day?"

"Well, in honor of all of our last few days of freedom, we were going to take a little trip to the stables." Never had Oliver seen Hime light up so fast and that in itself is impressive.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!" The small runner bounded back to the gang's room.

"I'm gonna go make sure they don't set anything on fire." Mikoto turned to follow.

Piko and Flower shared a look that seemed half fond and half panicked. "I think Fuka and Miki should be here soon."

"Mentally prepare yourself."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time the group had made it to the front entrance, Maika and Yohio were staring down the road for their last-minute guests. Maika, in particular, wasn't a huge fan of the idea of the random family of Flower's equally randomly chosen bodyguard hanging out at the palace for the day, but Yohio had insisted she give them a chance. He was so lucky that he was cute or else Flower would have been grounded until the very day that that ruler showed up.

Everyone was under a lot of stress right now and a break would be good. In fact, Maika only agreed after Yohio pointed out that they themselves would have some downtime watching over the teens. Not exactly a win-win, but still better than nothing.

"Sorry about the hold up." Flower greeted with her merry band of misfits in tow.

"Nothing to be sorry about. It's not like we had a specific time in mind." Yohio shrugged. Well, Maika did have a bit of a time in mind, but that's not really relevant at this point. These mystery people will show up eventually.

Speak of the devil. Two figures of varying height came into view along the main road on foot causing Maika to pity that they had to walk here when the sun was well into this climb further overhead. The taller of the pair walked with strong posture and a kind of composure that the adviser could respect. A blue work gown draped just above the sole of laced boots that gave the impression that she would be ready for some active work if the need arose. Her walking buddy had no such energy. Sure, he also looked ready for a hike, but he also radiated havocical energy. As if they needed more of that.

The two that were apparently related to the newcomers stood at the front of the crowd. The cherry haired boy was the first to greet them. "Wow, wasn't expecting a welcome party."

Piko, Oliver, and the other girl deflated. "That really had to be your opener?" Piko questioned tiredly.

The ginger glared at her companion. "I'm very sorry about him. I'm Miki, Piko's sister and that's Fukase. Thank you for having us on such short notice." Now Maika could get behind this sort of attitude.

"You're welcome."

"Ok, I hate to interrupt the pleasantries, but times a wastin and I would assume you guys would want to go home while it's light out." Flower butted in.

"I second that." Fukase added.

It seemed like the set had no objections and Flower took the role of guiding everyone to the open fields where horses were ridden and any training to do with them took place. Flower loved it there. She had absolute freedom in the plains and her horse, Hana was a complete sweetheart. She couldn't wait to share all of that.

"There are a few horses at the stables that are usually used for getting new guards accompanied with steeds meaning that they are very gentle and used to inexperienced riders." Yohio pointed out in regard to six animals that had no reaction to the bunch of people just entering their space. Hana nickered at the sight of her favorite human from her stall as other horses that had an attachment to Yohio and Maika were a little vocal as well.

The younger people's excitement was already growing with varying degrees of trying to hide that. "Has anyone ridden before?" Maika asked, seeing as she'd only have the group's attention for so long.

"Ummm...Miki and I went riding once when I was 8." Piko noted.

"So, no one's ridden before." Flower concluded. Piko nodded awkwardly with no one else objecting.

Yohio didn't look phased. "In that case, today gets to be a crash course in horse riding without breaking anything."

"Sounds great if that last part works out." Fukase interjected.

"How we're going to do this is Yohio, Flower, and I are going to get the horses ready and you'll be with one of us for that part helping us out. Whoever you're with is also the person that's going to be telling you what you need to know for riding." Maika started. "It doesn't make a difference to us who you want to go with as long as you're in equal-sized groups. Though Piko does need to stay with Flower because well, that's his job."

Flower was quick to mentally prepare for how hilarious that'll be. He never struck her as much of an animal person. "Hey! Are you guys seriously having a riding day without inviting me?" Flower looked to one of the stalls farther down the row to spot a pouty Len brushing the main of a gray speckled steed.

"I thought you had important squire business to do." She pointed out.

Len exhaled dramatically. "Do you think cleaning up after Point qualifies as important business? I think Sir Dex only has a squire for doing his chores."

"I'm pretty sure that's why most knights have students." Yohio mentioned.

"That and getting a power trip."

"Yeah, yeah, I get the gist. You just could have told me that you were going to have some cute guests over." Len winked over at Miki causing her to scowl in his direction.

Fukase, meanwhile, was grinning evilly. "I like this dude. He's got moxie."

"Thank you." The vibrant blond turned his attention to the higher-ups. "Are you sure you can't make room for one more?"

Maika looked over to Yohio like an exasperated parent. "You know, Len could be one more person to show some people the ropes." He reasoned.

"You'll need to pay me back later."

"Of course."

Len brightened up. "I'll be right back. Fukase, care to come with?"

"Why not?" The two went off into the castle, probably making the beginning of a plan to take over the world or something.

"I hope you realize that the palace will never be truly safe again." Piko said to the nervous-looking Maika.

Flower shrugged. "It was never safe in that area to begin with."

"Well..umm... Moving on, we do need to get into groups and get this show on the road." Yohio announced to divert focus from the chaotic good pair. "Please try to not drive us crazy."

"No promises."


	11. Chapter 11

A horse jostled beneath Piko as he grasped the reins nervously. It'd been a half-hour since he wasn't completely afraid of the animal bucking him, but he still was worried about falling off based on his own lack of coordination. Flower would have a field day with that.

Though she already was. She had watched him go through the embarrassing process of trying to mount his mare and nearly fall into horse scat along the way as well as attempting to show him how to command the horse without it getting annoyed with him. Piko was exponentially grateful for the animal's patience, but Piko was still concerned that it was wearing thin.

He was also grateful for Flower's patience. As much as she teased him for his ineptness in riding, she still was nearby calming him and his horse alike. Flower could have been galloping off into the sunset, but instead, she was leading Piko on a gentle training path at a snail's pace. Talk about an exciting afternoon.

"Are you really okay with this? You could go with the others and I'll be fine." Piko offered not wanting to put a damper on her time.

"That's a lie. Besides, I'm having fun. It's not every day that I can teach someone and they actually listen." She joked. Piko looked off to the grass in front of him, suppressing a sigh he wasn't expecting to be there. She just likes that he listens to her. That's... fair, but he didn't know why that made him down.

Flower rode close into Piko's personal bubble and nudged his arm. "Are you okay? You're kinda just staring off into space."

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"You're clearly not fine. What's going on?"

The problem was that Piko didn't know why he was feeling weird. Everything around them objectively was doing okay. The weather was warm with a little breeziness, the younger people were trying to race, and the older two were strolling around the edge of the space clearly enjoying their time off. By all means, it was a great day, but he didn't fully feel a part of it as if he would be jolted awake and realize that this was all a pipe dream or something.

Flower started riding ahead. "Follow me."

"Wait, to where?" Without Piko signaling anything, his horse pulled onward to the tree line that she was leading them to.

"As cheesy as it sounds, it's a surprise." She answered. The path in sight looked unused but it was clear that that was only a recent development with brush dusting over it while being easy to sweep away. Other than that, there wasn't a specific destination in sight. So, how does one explain that they were murdered by a princess on an off-trail horse riding adventure? Piko decided to figure that out when he got there.

Not long after the open plain was out of view, Flower dismounted her horse and tied the lead to a branch signaling Piko to do the same. "Just curious, are we close to your mystery place?"

"Yep. This is supposed to be a walking path, so the next part isn't the most animal friendly. Plus, these two can get a little snack break out here." Flower said patting the mane of her furry companion. "Just don't go too far off the path and we probably won't get lost."

"Somehow I'm having problems believing that."

"Ye of little faith. I've come down here since I was eight. If I didn't get lost then, I don't think we'll get lost now."

Piko put up a mock pout. "So you're saying I'm just not as dim as an eight-year-old?"

"Are you calling eight years old me dim?"

They both laughed at their own joking pettiness. "Wouldn't dream of it."

The pair continued on as the trail slowly delved into more wooded territory with trees forming a veil of shade that projected patterns on the forest floor. Blips of vibrant color shown through patches of wildflowers and quiet scattering of creatures filled the comfortable silence. Piko completely understood why anyone would want to come out here. It was like a different world of peacefulness that would never change no matter how much time had passed.

"We're here." Flower stopped them at a small stick-built hut in a thinner area of trees with a circle of rocks and ashes in the center. "No strict home life is complete without a secret hideout."

"Did you make this?" He asked.

Flower nodded going into her base. "Yeah. I was wandering on this trail after my classes one day, found an old fire pit and some matches and thought that I could make it my place."

"Out of curiosity, who would build a fire pit in the middle of a relatively dry forest?"

"No clue, but I thank them. My kid self loved fire and no one trusted me with flames in day to day life." She started to pull out cut logs from the back of her hideout and positioning them in a log cabin style within her stone-formed ring.

"I wonder why." Piko teased.

"Don't act like you've never played with fire before and could you start getting some twigs?"

Piko picked up some dry sticks near where he was standing. "Toshay. Miki would practically have to drag me away from our lamps at home when I was little."

"Welcome my fellow fire bug." Flower had a fair amount of wood around her as well as propped around her logs with some paper and birch bark for starting the flame. She rose from her position and grabbed a sizable bucket from the structure. "I'll be right back. There's a creek nearby and I need to get some water before we light this thing."

"Because we are all about fire safety here." Piko added.

"Clearly." She turned away to the faint sound of rushing water leaving Piko in his thoughts. It'd be an understatement to say that he was confused. He had no idea why this girl, why anyone for that matter, would do all of this for him. Why would anyone do this much because they saw that he was a little down? Flower had so much on her plate so why would she be here instead of being around the people that were actually having fun with what she set up? Piko had to be around her, but she had no reason to give Piko the time of day. Heck, she picked him at random.

"Ok. Now we can start this thing." Flower now had a full bucket of water with a few dark droplets on the folds of her riding skirt. "Are you getting in your head again?"

"What?"

"You have that tired/sad look again when you overthink things and make yourself feel bad." Flower stated taking a seat and patting next to her for him to join.

"How would you know that?"

"You mudder into space more often than you think. I didn't want to say anything." Piko flushed now wondering what she had overheard. His mind had a tendency to go in a million directions at once so he would end up rambling out the main ones leaving onlookers very confused and his family needing to explain away why he sounded and looked like a crazy person.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to worry you." He quietly took the spot next to her telling himself not to curl up in defence.

"You're fine on that front. I just want to know what's going on so I can help."

Piko was clueless on how to explain. "I don't want to add to your stress, that's all."

Flower huffed. "You're not 'adding to my stress' and this is getting us nowhere. Just talk. Talk about anything. I'm all ears."

"Well, what do you want to hear about?" Flower sat there considering for a second with Piko needing something to direct his words. He can't just be told to talk and think of something on the spot to discuss.

"Umm... How about your family? You love those guys to death and I bet there are plenty of random stories to be told." She prompted.

Piko thought back. There was definitely a wide array of wacky things all of them have gotten up to, but he didn't really feel like sharing those at the moment. They felt too impersonal for the time. "I can think of something. I bet you're wondering why the four of us live together even though only Miki and I are technically related."

"It's crossed my mind."

"Welp, it hardly started that way. I can assume you've guessed as much, but when I was little I was with Miki, my mom, and my dad. None of us were rich or anything like that and my parents work like no tomorrow for everything, but we had this plan. Well, more like an idea where one day all of us would pack up and leave for the ocean and build a life there. My dad loved fishing and would even sell some of his catches, so he promised that we could do amazing things with whatever resources he could drag in. They had even purchased a horse for a big move. Miki and I were insanely excited."

Flower peeked a smile. "Sounds amazing."

"But the story doesn't end there. One night when I was about ten and was awake way past when I was supposed to be, I heard my parents talking about something. My child brain couldn't make out what exactly they were saying, but it sounded hushed. So, being the smart kid that I was, I walked right up to them and asked what they were doing to be met with them telling me that it was something about our big move. I was satisfied with that and went to bed, but the next morning, they were gone. The horse was gone too, so Miki and I figured that they went on their big trip...just without us." Concern filled Flower's eyes as Piko turned away slightly. He didn't need the pity. This had all been years ago and he'd long since come to term with his life from there on out. Nothing could truly wash away the sight of betrayal in Miki's eyes that morning or the sickening feeling when he remembered his mom wishing him a good night for the last time, but that was all just a part of his life now. There wasn't much use in fighting it.

"I'm sorr-"

Piko interjected quickly. "Nothing to be sorry about. This thrilling tale gets happier I swear. Miki wasted no time after that point. She talked our parents' landlord into letting us at least keep hold of the house in the form of when we get the money, we can move back in, but in the meantime he wasn't going to let us live there. The number one parents of the year took most of the valuables, except for mom's sewing kit. She had started the mending business before and left most of her supplies behind leaving Miki to take all of her customers. So, now we had the house back and Miki is arguably better at this job than our mom was meaning that she also took a lot of other sewing jobs. I was her little errand boy, so imagine her surprise when I brought back a thieving homeless boy trying to steal our grocery money like a lost puppy."

"That's how Fukase joined the group? I thought you guys would have known him before or something like that." Flower noted holding back a laugh at the absurdity of it all.

"Nope. Miki was just too nice to turn him away and he had my puppy dog eyes on his side, so there was no way Fuka could lose."

She tried to compose herself again before speaking. "So how did Oliver get there?"

"Kind of a combination of what happened to all of us. Ollie's mom showed up saying that he was 'sick' and that she needed us to look after him for a little bit while she got help. Surprising no one but us at the time, she never came back and Oliver stayed with us because none of us had the heart to kick out a tiny six year-old." Piko shrugged. No one wanted to kick out Oliver anyway and none of them trusted that lady.

"Then the gang was all together. Happy ending, right?"

"As close as we'll get."

A silence settled over the two. Flower picked at the ground probably thinking over this information dump. Clearly neither of their lives were rainbow sunshine, but they were still here and still going forward. Then it hit Piko; why he felt bad. He didn't want Flower to leave him. He didn't want his short-term job here to end and they never see each other again.

Flower cleared her throat breaking Piko's train of thought before it got too far. "Thanks for telling me. I'm sorry that I brought you into all of this insanity and shook everything up, but I hope it isn't too stressful for you and if it ever is, you can talk to me."

"No need to be sorry. If anything, I think my life needed a little shaking up." Flower smiled in response. Not her normal smirk, but a genuine smile that broke up her intense resting face and made Piko feel cozy on the inside.

"Thanks." Flower started to get up. "Now, I pity the fact that we never got to start a fire, but the other people have definitely noticed that we're gone by now and we probably should resurface."

"Sounds about right. I guess we'll have to save the fire part for next time."

She flashed him another smile now a little more like her usual one. "Good plan."


	12. Chapter 12

Well, this is really bad, Maika thought as she rushed through the back halls. They had all known that King Howard would be at their doorstep soon, but now they were left with a single hour to finish up preparations and Maika had yet to inform Flower of this change. All the people that knew of this (and that was practically everyone at this point) was left running around like a chicken with their head cut off. Suffice to say, it was not a good time.

It certainly wasn't helped by the fact that Flower liked to be in one of the more out of the way areas of the palace. Maika understood why, but that didn't matter in the face of her having to haul down to the servant quarters and hope that "Her Majesty" was there. She had been spending much more time in that area, so chances were good, but not 100%.

When Maika did enter, she was met with a very warm scene. She almost felt bad about needing to break it up. Before her was Flower and Piko sitting on either side of the small runner, Oliver, at a table placed by the mail slots for others to write quick messages only now it was being used for an impromptu writing lesson. They guided his hand as he printed out letters in tilted handwriting under a set of gently scripted ones. He appeared unsure, but the two beside him encouraged him that it was fine if it wasn't perfect and that he shouldn't expect to get this exact the first time. Maika had to admit, it was very cute, but what wasn't cute was getting reprimanded for being late.

She cleared her throat, causing the trio to realize that she was there. "I hate to interrupt, but King Howard will be here very soon and you both need to clean up before then." She tried to not let her nervousness shine through. If Maika was shown to be nervous then that would put Flower on edge too.

"So, how much time do we have?" Flower asked tensely.

"About an hour, so I recommend we hurry."

The two nodded and Piko turned to the other boy. "Sorry 'bout this. You could try doing some of the letters by yourself and see what you can do without our help?"

"Ok, but just make sure to check them later. I don't want to be practicing the wrong thing." Oliver answered.

"Sounds good. With luck, we won't be gone long."

Maika definitely hoped for that, but the odds were low. She gave an apologetic look to Ollie and pushed the others out the door knowing that those two being unprepared for the task ahead would only make this all run longer. Plus, she assured Yohio that she could handle getting them ready by herself and she didn't want to make him worry.

Piko was left by Len and a group of other guards to get him into some official uniforming that was deemed unnecessary until now. They had been briefing him on procedures and the way he was "supposed to act" as a guard to the crown for the past week and a half and Maika would be lying if she said that he was completely ready. He normally wouldn't need all of this considering how lax his position was, but at the time being, good presentation was everything.

Speaking of which, Flower glared at the get up laid on her bed. It looked out of place among her relatively simple (in comparison to other nobles) room that now had a pile of quilts and blanket off to the side for someone who should be standing guard at night but was instead invited in for sleep. Once again, neither Maika nor Yohio minded though it was clear that when this light job was over, this would not be the last time they saw the semi albino. He's going to be a large part of getting Flower through this without her yelling at officials and as much as she hated to admit it, Yohio was right to let Piko stay here.

Okay, Maika's train of thought veered wildly off track. She didn't expect to get so attached to these pains in the neck, but that was not what she should be considering right now. "I get that this dress looks like a torture device in your eyes but,---"

"We need to keep up a good appearance or else the world will burn down." Flower finished.

"Something like that." They shared a knowing glance for their situation. They understood that as much as they wanted to stop all of this and go take a nap, they knew that the best way to get through everything was to get it over with.

The mutual agreement left them to put Flower together to the best of their abilities. She had a lavender gown that bellowed out with drapes of fabric meant to be laid over a frame; Flower's worst nightmare. It all followed classic upper-class dressing standards trying to give the effect that this was the picture of a model princess that totally doesn't want to kick your shins. Granted that was far from the truth, but King Howard didn't need to know that.

"End me, please. I'll probably mess up our deal just because I whacked someone with my skirt." She complained, swimming in the overwhelming amount of material.

"I wouldn't put it past you. Now, I would love to stick around and help you not be too sulky, but I need to freshen up as well." Maika went over to the door. "I trust that you'll brush down your hair and all of that."

Flower nodded. "Yes, mom. I've got this."

"Ok." She hurried out. This was not the time to get flustered, despite how Maika and Yohio have in a sense been her parents for the last three years.

On the other hand, this was when Flower truly realized what she said. Heck. She dragged her comb through her unruly hair that was a lost cause. Honestly, this whole thing seemed like that. There was no way that this power hunger king would knock it off if he got to see a castle even if it was a "show of good faith."

She was about as ready as she could be or at least cared to be. Her guardians had been very clear about what she needed to do; stomach her urge to punch this guy and be nice. It didn't sound that hard, but Flower couldn't stop the thought that this was the person keeping everything at a standstill and Flower trapped inside. How was she supposed to keep her cool around that?

"Hey Flower, are you ready?" Piko called from outside the door.

"Yeah." She really hoped so.

Flower couldn't fully believe the sight in front of her. Piko actually looked put together. Not that he looked like a mess before, but he always was a little loose around the edges because he didn't care to fix it. Now, that was long gone with a carefully fitted coat in dark blue material that fell just above his knee with an embroidered patch signifying his rank and a cleaner version of his normal pants and shirt ensemble. Even the front part of his hair was tied back neatly.

"Is this ok? Len said that I needed to look professional and not like I just stepped out of a dust storm."

Flower shot her eyes anywhere else but the person in question. "I think you're fine. I kinda thought they'd give you armor or something like that."

"Apparently, they didn't find it necessary. I just hope I won't have to use what they did give me." Piko showed the inside of his coat to reveal a small dagger latched to his side. "As much the week of instruction helped, I don't think I could do anything in a fight."

"Eh. I could just hit an attacker with the fencing attached to my waist and we'll be out of there in no time."

Piko smiled. "Then I have nothing to worry about."

As nice as this was, there was still a job to do. "Since we have everything at least kind of set here, we should get going." Flower noted with a touch of bitterness.

"You're right." He agreed. "Just tell me if you need help."

"Ok. You can talk to me too." She didn't know how much she could help, but it was worth mentioning. What she did know was that Piko had no clue what he was about to get into.


	13. Chapter 13

"I'm serious. This is a bad idea." Mikoto stated to their sibling that looked ready to chase after Flower the second she left the room.

"No, it's not. We're moral support!" They reasoned back.

Mikoto sighed. "We're not going to be that great of moral support if we're distracting them."

"Well, if that's the case, then why would people be holding this sort of thing in a public area? It's not against the rules to just go to the entrance."

"Of course it's at the main entrance. A king is visiting, where's he supposed to enter? The stables?" They shouldn't have needed to discuss this. It's common sense that when someone important is visiting and Flower needs to do the whole "model royalty" thing, three kids shouldn't be hanging around there and potentially get everyone in trouble. Sadly, Hime rarely cares about common sense when it comes to these things. It's practically in their nature to want to know everything about anything they find interesting in the palace and royal drama is high up there. Only problem is that they have a tendency to drag Mikoto into it leaving them to get the crazy one out of messes.

"I agree with Mikoto. This is too important for us to get involved." Oliver piped in. Even though he hadn't been here all that long, Oliver had warmed up to the twins very quickly. Usually, people get overwhelmed by Hime first, then they find Mikoto to be cold and they generally avoid the duo despite their skill in their job. Ollie couldn't avoid them even if he wanted to, but he looked to be doing well with his placement.

"This is too important for us to not get involved." Hime countered. "We could help a lot if we knew how things were going and this seems like a time when a quick message might need to get out. In that likely case, we'd be right there."

Oliver thought for a second. "That could happen, I guess..."

"I'm outnumbered, aren't I." They said in more of a statement than a question.

"Yep!"

This can only end so well. "Fine, but when we're down there, you need to promise to be 100 percent quiet no matter what happens and out of sight. We have no clue what could set this ruler off, but we do know that he's temperamental and we don't want that to be direct at any of our peoples."

Oliver nodded and Hime gave a mock salute. "Yes sir."

Creeping out of they're wing, something was clearly off. The sounds of daily chatting and footsteps were noticeably absent within the sprawling halls as if the castle was holding its breath. The three sounded too loud just from their walking.

"Are you sure there wasn't a notice to stay in today?" Oliver whispered.

"If there was, we would have been the first to be told." Staff always tells the younger ones first if there's anything that involves them so they would be ready and more importantly, not forget.

Faint voices started to come into earshot, the speakers also keeping quiet."...any moment now. Try to start using that patience we talked about."

Huh, seems like the group was moving quicker than they thought. The combined sounds of Yohio, Maika, and who Mikoto assumed to be Flower and Piko shifted with nerves at the oncoming wave of standards. Mikoto could never guess what it was like to get this many expectations dumped on you. They had their own responsibilities, but that mostly consisted of doing their job and watching after their more rambunctious family member and plenty of people already helped with that. Having to deal with the fate of an entire kingdom was something they couldn't even imagine without wanting to find the nearest bathroom.

"We'll try." Piko responded, cutting off Flower's oncoming remark.

"We want to start this on the right note." Maika added.

The welcome party was now in view for the small messengers revealing a few servants ready to help the guest when he arrived and typically laid back people trying to appear as aloof as possible. "Of course." Blankness covered Flower's voice and Mikoto could easily recognize it as how she sounds when she wants to keep her cool while she's very salty.

"King Howard's carriage is coming down the road." A lookout announced. The atmosphere stiffened further which was something the twin didn't even think was possible. The two main pairs within the familiar people shared a glance that ranged from supportive to "This should be interesting."

Mikoto could hear the carriage before they saw it and that stampede of hooves couldn't prepare anyone for how extravagant it would be. They could almost feel the gold and jewels crevices filling with dirt from the road and pity was deeply felt for the poor person that would have to clean it out. A flag in deep purple with a tin-toned gold symbol fluttered alongside the windows. Flower had told the twins early on that this king had changed the flag the moment he came into power. Didn't sound like a good sign of personality.

Hime pulled on Mikoto's sleeve, bringing their attention to the fact the horses had stopped as two of the attendants opened the front doors. A collective breath drew in and it just hit Mikoto that this was most likely the first time that any of them had seen this person. Not gonna lie, the disappointment was real. The first thing anyone would have noticed wasn't the decadent fabric that made up his garments, or how ceremonial jewels that were normally for special occasions were on full display, or even how this guy's outfit was color coordinated to the carriage, but that he was... old. Mikoto would have guessed at least over 50.

Obviously, it wasn't too weird for a ruler to live long and all, but wasn't this person only on the throne for a few years now? His dark hair was cropped close to his head causing what streaks of gray he had to stand out jarringly and his spine didn't look to be the straightest crayon in the box, though his demeanor made it seem as though he couldn't care less about it. He radiated confidence like he knew full and well that he was the most decked out person there and no one would stop him. Granted, no one would.

The other people reacted and regained composure quickly, needing to make it look like it wasn't lost in the first place and moved forward for greetings. Flower was at the head with Piko close to her side, her pace noticeably fast fueled by the want to get this over with. The runners couldn't fully hear what was being said with the others now being outside, but they could see the two royals exchanging what (Mikoto hope for her sake) was polite conversation. So far so good.

Ok, Mikoto thought too soon. Panic shot through their veins as the visiting king himself shot an annoyed look right at the gang's position. They locked eyes and he said something to the group near him.

Well, looks like it's time to use those stellar getting out of messes skills. At least this time it was directly Hime's fault.


	14. Chapter 14

Piko and Flower froze when they followed the foreign king's critical stare. Why were those three here? Everyone in the room instantly knew that these kids were going to be eaten alive and no amount of formality would save them.

The problem was that the two couldn't really do anything to protect them as much as they wanted to. King Howard couldn't know anything about their connection to the trio. If he found out that Flower had basically adopted the twins and Piko was one of Oliver's only relatives it would end up giving him way too much power over negotiations meaning that they could only hope that the accused would be able to talk themselves out of it. What even gave them the idea to be here in the first place?

"Might I ask why three servants are listening in on my reception?" King Howard asked the quickly paling princess. Stay calm. He can't see how unprepared they were right off the bat.

Deep breaths. "I believe they are messengers. There's a good chance that they were sent on a delivery." Her tone was clipped, but not panicked. That's probably the best the nobles would be getting for now.

The ruler motioned for Mikoto, Hime, and Oliver to go over to him. Never had those kids looked so small; shuffling to the front entrance eyes pinned to the floor and hands fidgeting in their pockets. "What was your purpose in this area?"

Mikoto lifted their head slightly and met the cold eyes planted on them not so much in defiance, but in a small show of strength as if to say that they're not 100 percent terrified. "We were here in case of a quick letter needing to be sent considering the... importance of this visit."

"If we were in need of those services, we could very easily have found someone without you spying on official business."

"We were just trying to be helpful." Hime commented under their breath. The words registered on Piko and Flower's ears and they knew King Howard would have heard it as well.

He straightened his normally crooked back looming over the relatively short runners. "You were being nothing less than an annoyance. None of you had a reason for being here outside gathering gossip for an extra scrap of attention."

Hime shrank back. It doesn't take much to figure out that this little adventure was their idea, but they could have never expected to be reprimanded at the one thing they were the most self-conscience about. Everyone just knows that Hime likes to be in the know, but they'd never want to have others face consequences for their plan and especially be considered a bother.

"We really were trying to help and you have no right to be talking to them that way." Mikoto stated in defense.

Bad move. Really bad move. A dangerous look filled his eyes and his features twisted harshly. "I have all the right to speak to you however I wish! You lot are nothing but servants that can't even compare! You need to learn your place."

"That's enough." Flower's statement echoed in the hall. "You are not going to be speaking to inhabitants of this palace in that way. I will be talking to these three about this, but that is not your place."

Tension racked through the space. "As you wish, princess." The words were tacked with bitter resolve.

"Good. Now, I suggest you three head back to your area and we will discuss this later." Her voice showed no room for argument though it's not like they would want to argue with being dismissed from this situation as soon as possible.

Piko thought he knew what maximum stress levels were, but he was starting to think that his scale needed to be greatly adjusted. Maika and Yohio alike appeared to have been smacked over the head with the scene before them and Piko could tell that it was only a few moments before Flower straight up decked this guy. Being honest, he would have been pretty tempted to join.

"Would you mind taking the King on the planned tour of the castle? I believe there are some things I need to get to." More like some things she needed to get away from.

"Of course." Yohio nudged Maika's arm as she was still in partial shock. He led the older of them down the center corridor trying to lighten the mood with his verbal charm. It was a skill he was very good at, but Piko was unsure of how well it would work.

What he was sure about was that he and Flower needed to get the heck out of there. "Come on." Piko didn't know what compelled him, but he held a hand to her. It's not like she needed leading through her own grounds, but he felt that a reminder of her people would help in the mental department. Flower latched on quickly bringing them out of the front area. It was clear that she had wanted to leave the moment she got there.

"How long did we make it? 15 minutes before things went to crud?"

"I really wasn't expecting that."

Flower shrugged tiredly, "No one was. At least it wasn't some random person that got caught in the middle of this. They knew what they were getting themselves into."

"I'm just glad that you stepped in when you did." Piko noted. This person was pretty mad then and he really didn't want to find out what full-on rage was like.

"He looked like he was about to hit Mikoto and if it came to that, none of us would have kept our cool."

"You've got a point." They would never say it to them, but Flower and Piko felt very protective over the runners. Both of them knew that all of those people didn't have an easy time getting to where they were today (although Piko didn't have much background on Hime and Mikoto's story) and the two thought that they could make it better. As cheesy as it sounded, they felt that they could provide some of that lost affection that they didn't exactly have either.

Parental instinct aside, those butt-cheeks do need to get that they screwed up big time. "That was up there with some of the stupidest things you've ever done." Flower opened.

They were all sat on the bottom bunk within their room with the understanding they were in for the Flower scolding of a lifetime. "We're sorry."

"Good! Now King Golden-Britches has beef with all of us and he hasn't even been here for a full hour."

"He doesn't have anything on me." Piko sneaked in.

Flower shot him a side-eye. "He doesn't know that you're alive and considering how things are going, let's keep it that way."

"Mom's trying not to become a single parent."

"I'm not done with you guys." Hime went quiet fast. "Might I remind you that this guy will be here for the next two weeks? We can't just push him onto Maika and Yohio every time we can't handle his bull."

Hime glanced between Flower and them partly curling their legs up onto the bed. "We know. I just wanted to be there for the action and I dragged the others down with me."

"We understand that you didn't mean any harm. This is just a tricky situation and we need to be careful about it." Piko replied. Time to be the good cop.

"Ok." They made their way out before anything else could be said. That stupid ruler gave them more than enough scolding for their actions.

Flower sunk on to Oliver's bed her energy thoroughly depleted. What more was she supposed to do? Things have already fallen apart and she was left clueless on how to fix it with the pressure that she needs to succeed for the sake of everyone she cared about. "What are we even doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are we doing? It's like the universe is against us getting anything right here." Flower was just done with all of this as she lamented. "We already screwed this up."

Piko took a spot next to her. "It hasn't been that long. We can still keep things moving and if anything, I think you showed a lot of strength telling him off. It shows that you can hold your own."

"I don't think that jerk would see it that way." No man-child would take kindly to being stopped. "But, thanks."

"Of course. I'm sure that we can convince that guy. Up until the kids' great appearance, everyone was keeping things together pretty well. Once we can get back on good terms, we should be fine." Piko reassured her. He probably was right, but there was still too much on the line.

Flower sighed in a dejected manner. "I guess. I'll never find out how my parents put up with this every day."

"Hopefully, we'll get to know soon."

"If all goes well. It's just crazy to think of what could happen if we pull this off. They could be coming home soon after all this time!" She thought out loud.

It was a little weird to think that someday soon her parents would be seeing the state of their kingdom, their staff, and their kid after three flipping years. Flower had changed a lot in that time and she wondered what her parents would think of the person she is now. What would they think of her companions? Flower flushed a little and hoped that Piko couldn't tell.

"It'll be great. It's a little weird to think that after this, I'll just be going back to my town." Piko slumped down. He doesn't have the same stakes in this business, but here he is dealing with it. Does he really think that means nothing to the people here?

"You honestly think you can get rid of me that easily?"

He glanced over at Flower with a hint of curiosity. "I thought you would be too busy after everything was settled."

"I'm never too busy to drag you people over here. Yohio definitely has a soft spot for you and Len might actually start crying if he didn't get to see his chaos soulmate again." Flower remarked.

"What about you?"

She paused for a second. Does he even need to ask? "Obviously, I'd miss you too. What other people can put up with this much of my crap and not run away screaming?"

"Fair, I guess."

"Plus, you have to meet Mom and Pops at some point." Her smirk went mischievous.

Piko ran his hand through the part of his hair that was down tensely. "That sounds downright terrifying."

"We'll never know until we get there."

Silence blanketed over them comfortably. They both could just enjoy the time that they didn't need to worry about the insanity of their current lives and simply relax. Even if it was fleeting, it was nice.

Flower held out her arms awkwardly. What was she doing? "Hug?"

He smiles in response. "Sure."

Piko was undeniably warm and even though both of them were the definition of twigs, he was also solid. Someone that was there with no covetous involved. Flower hoped she could provide the same despite her own fragile state. In a completely platonic way, she swears. They both needed a chance to be weak and in return, protected.

A voice cleared their throat from the doorway. "Hey, as cute as you two are, we need you at this moment."

Panic mode active. The two hurried away from each other at Yohio's words looking like a pair of flustered tomatoes. Well, ummm... duty calls.


	15. Chapter 15

The dining hall was near silent and void of life except for one person. The tall windows lining one of the walls with upper colored panes flooded the area with light in warm hues, but it couldn't erase the chill of a single dictator sitting alone waiting for a teenager to show up. Flower's stomach turned in nervousness and she was sure that Piko was having a similar experience. No sane person could dismiss the looming gray in the space over them.

Maika and Yohio had essentially pushed them into the room because King Howard wanted to speak and "get to know" Flower more. She had genuinely wanted to barf at that. Truthfully, she knew way too much about this guy already and the last thing she wanted was to know more. At least they couldn't get rid of Piko even though he can't really interfere. It's better than nothing.

"Good afternoon, princess." The King had sat himself at the head of the table almost as a challenge and a test of his borders despite the fact that no one was a fan of this particular person testing his border. The kingdom's outer residents could attest.

Flower took a moment to swallow her thoughts before speaking in the knowledge that they'd creep into her voice. "Good afternoon."

"Wouldn't you like to sit down? I'm truly sorry for my behavior earlier." Sure...right and Len is the most disciplined person in the castle.

She nodded stiffly and took a seat in her usual spot, not at the seat next to the head, but three or four spots down where she didn't feel as trapped in. Similarly, Piko sat down in the chair next to her causing a critical look to linger on King Howard's face. It was true that a bodyguard probably shouldn't be chilling on the job, but Flower could care less about correcting it.

"Well, I know so little about you. Your parents rarely get into personal things." She really tried to shove back the slap of her family, but it still pulled at her composer in rebellion. This was not the time. "Would you mind telling me more about yourself?"

"I am working on becoming experienced in the workings of this kingdom and learning my duties." Prim, proper, and painfully rehearsed.

The king smiled in a way that put both Flower and Piko on edge as if he had rehearsed that action as well but to an even more uncomfortable degree. "Do you have any hobbies?"

"I enjoy horse-back riding."

"Interesting. I noticed a very nice stable on the advisers' tour. Shame you weren't there to explain in detail." I would have been there if you didn't yell at my kids, she mentally remarked.

Still not the time. "Truly."

"She's very skilled." Piko added. He meant well trying to not let the barely functioning conversation fall dead, but 'guard' is kind of a silent role.

King boy most certainly noted that one, but didn't acknowledge him. Why speaking with someone quote on quote lesser? That good ol' urge to gag was back. "Any hobbies of yours?" Flower asked back. Yep, that had to be one of the least genuine things she's ever said and she apologized to the Chancellor before. Thinking about it, those two would get along stupidly well. A terrifying thought right there.

"If you'd like to know," She didn't, but go ahead. "I've been known to help with the training of new recruits in the royal guard."

Piko tightened up, clearly not liking the implications of that statement. "That's...nice."

Never in the history of the universe have two people wanted to leave a room with no immediate danger in it. Seriously, what are you supposed to talk about? 'Hey, so I heard that you were burning down and pillaging the outer villages of my kingdom. How's that going?'

"I have been meaning to ask, you seem very close with your guard. Any particular reason?"

A dry swallow resonated in Flower throat. What kind of question is that? "When someone has to be around you as much a bodyguard would, you tend to get to know each other." Flower tried to explain away casually. She could tell what he was trying to get at, but there was no way that she would give up information that could be used against them. Especially something that would directly hurt Piko. The last thing Flower wanted to do was cause him more trouble than she already had.

King Howard wasn't buying it and frankly, Flower didn't have much to sell it in the first place. "What's your name?" Niceties were starting to drop.

"Piko." Flower gave his leg a little kick under the table. "Sir."

"Would you mind if I had a few words with Piko?"

Danger. Yeah, Flower did not trust that in the slightest. This guy is most definitely planning something and it was not good and only an idiot would think otherwise. She could try all she wanted to keep a straight face, but a small bit of her true reaction peeked through and it could only be described as fear and 'aw heck'.

Piko met her eyes with a little bit of pleading and a lot more of something that looked to say 'Please trust me. I don't want to do this either, but we don't have a choice.' He's right, but if Flower finds out that there was some sort of threat made against him on top of what happened with the twins, then King Anger-Issues should prepare to be strangled with an obnoxiously frilly skirt.

So that just left one pale twig and a king with a pension for not respecting others. Piko could already tell that this was not about to go in his favor. "How long have you been doing this job?" His tone flipped on a dime.

"Ummm... not too long." There's no way that Piko could lie, but he couldn't let it out that he'd only had this job for about two weeks. A vague answer was the best he could go for.

"That would explain your...casualness. How were you picked for this work?"

Piko knew an insult when he heard one, but he wouldn't dare defend himself. "Princess Flower was allowed to pick her own guard."

"Then that explains it. You were the youngest options, I'm guessing." Technically, I wasn't an option, Piko thought to himself.

He nodded not wanting to dig himself into a deeper pit.

"She seemed to be more rebellious." Kind Howard grinned in a manner that sent a chill down Piko's spine and made him want to warn Flower of the amount of creepiness being aimed at her. "Though her choice in protection is questionable at best, I hope you at least understand your duty."

"I'm knowledgeable about my duty and I think anyone's choices are up to their own judgment."

A flicker of rage flashed onto the King's features before being rangled back. "Don't be getting smart with me. The Princess's decisions are up to her discretion, but that doesn't mean that she isn't affected by other... aspects."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Piko knew that this wasn't the best thing to do, but this whole insulting people thing wasn't something he could just let happen. He was related to Fukase after all.

"I'm sure you would understand more than me."

Actually, he didn't fully know but also didn't like what was being inferred. "I don't see how this conversation is relevant right now." Or at all for that matter.

King Howard chuckled sending a feeling both mocking and ominousness. "That will be clear soon enough. It was actually that adviser's idea." He mused. "Simply don't try to stand in my way."

Stand in his way? What does he think Piko can do? More importantly, what does he think he can do? Worry started to cloud over Piko's mind akin to the crackling air that appeared before a storm.

"Also, if you wouldn't mind keeping this little chat between us?"


	16. Chapter 16

Fukase shoved his way through the crowded market trying to not fall over in the process. It didn't help that Fuka was a certified short person, but today the square was the most packed that he'd ever seen and the fact that half the working class was populating it was just confusing things more. Bits of conversation whipped past but there were too many for him to actually pick up and comprehend and it annoyed him to no end.

Being aware of news was kind of important to Fukase's job and livelihood. Most people are less likely to notice a little trinket getting picked up when they're busy chatting about how oblivious those two school kids are or how the person three houses over lost some chickens and their nowhere to be found. Granted, it sounds boring and meaningless, but that little chit-chat helps Fuka blend in and prompts vendors to turn a blind eye to his interaction with the higher class. Despite what others may think, he wouldn't take from the shopkeeps that didn't do anything to him. Professionals have standards.

Thinking about it, there hasn't been much of a need for Fukase's services as of late, but he still found himself at the square for the heck of it. How could he not? He had some of the most prime information with him even being encouraged to spread it, but now some bigger scoop is taking the spotlight and Fuka was left in the dark.

Nearly every building appeared full, but one location that most parents went out of their way to not pass much to their children's disappointment that Fuka was fairly familiar with; the bakery. The entire gang had been fascinated with the sugary creations there since they were tiny in their own wanderings and when they were together, gawking at the sweets as a pack. With that, it wouldn't be too strange or out of the ordinary for one of them to pop in every once in a while and see how Kaito's doing.

"Hey. Taking shelter from the storm as well?" Fukase greeted.

"Apparently." Kaito was in the middle of midday restocking, but he did take a second to scan the slightly trampled boy in his doorway. "The people have been at it all afternoon. I can't really tell if it's good or bad for business."

Fuka shrugged. "I'm the last person to ask, but do you know what everyone's going off about?" If he had to describe the energy of every person out there, tense would be a serious understatement.

"You don't know? I thought you and Miki had grand palace adventures."

"Well, yeah, but it's not like they were lying out all of their secrets on a silver platter." Although, it did seem like once you were in the castle, there wasn't much to be hidden. It genuinely surprised Fukase how blunt everyone was and he was the very king of oversharing.

Kaito laughed a little. "I thought you'd be the first to know and be out there. You might be losing your edge."

"Just spill."

He raised an eyebrow slightly as Fuka narrowed his eyes.

"Please."

Kaito's giggling continued on. "Well since you twisted my leg and also asked so nicely, one of the people with the lumber had a big drop off at the palace and they noticed that there were some other very big hauls getting delivered as well and that they were some expensive goods."

"It's the freaking castle. What else is new?"

"Yes, but our lovely royals have never been much for the decadence and with a bit of smooth-talking with the thoroughly disinterested workers, the guy found out that the nobles are throwing a big party." Kaito announced in a tone that made the event seem ten times more ominous than it actually would be.

It's a party, fancy people have those all the time and it's not like the likes of them would be getting an invite. Kaito, despite his usual goofy demeanor, was as much of a sucker for drama as Fuka is, so this news was a little lackluster. "Okay? How is that the reason behind the human tornado going on outside?"

"Well, we already know that the royal family doesn't have endless pockets and no one's particularly happy about their money going towards a ball. Are you sure nobody said anything about this when you visited?"

"Completely. If I did, I would have badgered Flower nonstop about it." Fukase noted.

At that statement, Kaito adopted a teasing stare that struck fear into the hearts of any young one. "So, on first-name basis with the princess, huh?"

"Seriously? Get your shipping instincts in line. Piko's the one going full heart-eyes." A big pro of Piko being in fancy™ land was how his companion was now free to talk crud about his love life all he wanted and there was a lot of hilarity to unpack there.

"Gotta say, he has a type, but that does bring up a detail you should probably know about." Now that doesn't sound good. "I've been hearing some talk about people storming the palace whenever the party is happening and having a big protest."

That's really bad. Well, not the whole people sticking it to the patriarchy. That's pretty awesome, but in this case, the big problem isn't because of this patriarchy and they really don't need the bad rep right now. "That's a terrible idea."

"Really? I thought you'd be at the front of the charge." Katio replied. He had long since finished his job and was just lounging for Fukase to continue as long as no customers came in.

"At any other time, definitely." He started. What would be the most straightforward way to explain this crud without sounding like an agent of the law? Eh, he'll figure it out later. "Sorry, but I need to go. Oliver and Piko could get caught in that crossfire real easily and they would get crushed."

"Do you really think that things would go that far?"

Katio may not have noticed with his business being the physical embodiment of everything good in the world, but the people were beyond the point of just being restless. It was as if the stress of the entire town was a piece of rubber being stretched far past what it should be and is about snap and that snap was not going to be pretty. Fukase has seen mobs tear people to shreds because they were spurred on by the violent energy around them regardless of how nice they seem in everyday life. Mentality Is a dangerous thing and Piko specifically would be at the front line.

Fukase fought a shudder. No, he's not going back there, not even in his mind and not in front of a friend. "Anything could happen."

"If you say so. Better of luck out there."

"Thanks."

Using the network of back alleyways, Fukase made quick time getting home. The rational part of his head knew that Piko would probably be fine. They wouldn't hurt someone they knew, right? That uncertainty couldn't be shoved out with only that. He thought that people wouldn't hurt someone they were familiar with, but he had clear proof of the opposite and it wouldn't leave his head no matter how much he tried.

The back of the house came into view after Fuka ducked beneath the windows to avoid Miki's sight. She probably wasn't looking out right now, but he couldn't let her see him when he was on the verge of a panic attack because even if he wasn't quite there yet, Fukase knew that it was only a matter of time. The image of his family being trapped and buried in a crowd with already firmly uncovered and gripped onto his conscientious.

It had been a good day so far. Cul and Fuka were just starting a holiday break from school and they knew that their parents would also be spending more time at home after today. What more could you want? The two of them had been spending the whole day preparing the work they wanted to show off and trying to find the perfect thing to one-up the other.

The room was just starting to warm up from the old fireplace that Fuka made his priority to maintain when he was home and the gentle flames reflected off of his naturally papery skin and sending a glow over his writing. He had been trying to practice his penmanship so that even his sister would have to admit that it was good. Their little rivalry seemed like it would never end and neither of them really wanted it to. It pushed the cherry head to do better and in turn, Cul did better too. She wouldn't want to be shown up by a little pre-teen after all.

Then they heard it. Shouts.

Cul had moved to the window facing the front door of there home only to whip the curtain shut and grab her brother's arm pulling him out of the room. Her grip was firm and her pace was frantic. "Wait, what's going on?"

"We need to leave. Mom and Dad told me to leave if anyone showed up and half the town is at our doorstep." Her eyes stayed trained on the end of the hall that would lead to the back of the house where a door was located. Why are there even people here? What did they want with them? Where were their parents?

"But, Mom and Dad could be outside. We need to help if they're in trouble!" Fuka tried to retch himself out of Cul's grasp, scrambling to the front. This must have been some kind of mistake. There was no reason that Fukase could come up with for anyone to want to swarm his family, so maybe the two of them could sort this out. No one would hurt a pair of kids, right?

He got an answer fast. The main entrance burst open and a flood of angry laborer stampeded through the parlor and to his parents' offices yelling at and pushing the kids to find their goal. Then it was almost as if the wave of people split in front of him revealing what Cul was trying to protect him from; Mom and Dad. On the ground. Limbs planted to the cold stones. Red and purple patches marking their skin. People showing no regrets.

A crash sounded behind Fukase and cry followed. His sister was left strung up in the arms of two attackers pinning her arm behind her head as she kicked at their legs to no avail. They wouldn't do this. Fuka could pick out the faces of the book shop storekeeper that sold him the first book he fully read by himself, the kid that always helped with the ovens in the storage houses, the lady that always had lost one of her cats only to have it come back a few hours later. He knew these people, so why were they harming him?

One thing that pricked his sight especially was the crowd that had formed around the riot. Nobles observed the chaos from afar. Why aren't they helping? They have the power to stop this, so why are they letting this happen? Why aren't they getting the two kids that had nothing to do with this out of here. Why didn't they stop this when his parents, their equal, got beaten?

Cul's screams cut at his ears with only a few words resonating on his brain. Run. Get out of here.

And he did. Fukase ran. His vision tunneled and he couldn't pick out anything around as his world turned into a blur. There might have been someone tailing him, but he couldn't tell. All he could do was run.

He crawled into the back of a moving carriage and let it take him wherever it was heading. As long as it wasn't back there, Fuka couldn't care less where he ended up. No proof was needed to tell him that his family was gone; that the mob would not stop until every person was ripped to pieces and all he could do was run.

A few hours later, the driver noticed his beaten-down stowaway and threw his out onto the path just outside of a different village lodging gravel into the forming cuts on his face that would never fully heal. At least he wasn't in the middle of nowhere, but he had no idea what to do from there.

The first step was food. The problem was that food costs money that Fukase didn't have, but he did know who had it. If those nobles could afford to watch two of their own get murdered, then they can pay it forward.

Fuka had persisted like this for a few months, but as it got colder and any given person's pockets got harder to get to, he needed to lower his already crushed moral bar. That's when he saw another kid with a pouch loosely tied to his hip jingling with coins. Perfect.

Little did he know that the boy was more prospective than he thought and didn't find sleeping in between two wooden boards and straight trying to take his money as a turn away. Fukase wasn't expecting to get taken home with the most convincing puppy dog eyes he'd ever seen, but that was the best thing that could have happened.

"Fukase? Are you back here?" Miki called through Fuka's trance for him to realize that he looked like depression and sadness: the person and that there was nothing he could do to hide it.

"Um..yeah. I need to talk to you about something."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I made some art for this story and it's on the Wattpad copy under the same title and username if you're interested.


	17. Chapter 17

"Quick question, why are we just hearing about this?" Hime asked, practically jumping on Flower's arm. Fancy parties were right up their alley and this was the first one to happen in years, so she'd have to excuse their hyperactiveness.

"We just heard about too." Flower noted glancing over at her advisers.

Yohio was quick to put his hand up motioning his innocence. "Hey, we needed to come up with something to stop King Howard from being salty at you."

"And there's no way that we'd be letting you be alone with him especially after what he said to Piko." Maika added. No one had fully told Hime what happened between that king and Piko, but it clearly wasn't good and Flower was not happy about. The way that she scowled was enough proof. "This was the best we could think of."

"Well, I'm not complaining." Honestly, is a party the worst result here? Everyone needed some fun and, with that many people being there, it wouldn't be too hard for Piko and Flower to break away from the royal hothead and for a certain few kids to slip in.

Mikoto crossed their arms and shot their twin a look that Hime was very familiar with. "I hope you know that you can't go."

"Under any other circumstances, I would be all for sneaking you guys in, but after what went down, old Howard would lose it even if you were just on staff." Flower stated. Although they would never say it, she was one of the people Hime knew they couldn't cross. Flower can be scary when she wanted to be.

"I'm sorry that I left you alone in the first place." Piko apologized. This was the fourth time since the two of them had entered the common room and even Hime was starting to get a little annoyed.

They sighed in exasperation knowing that they have no patience for that kind of thing. "You have nothing to be sorry about. That guy felt threatened by a kid and that's completely his problem."

Be nice to yourself, dang it! It seemed like everyone was always talking themselves down and it made absolutely no sense. Everyone was insanely cool and no one could see it. Just look at Piko and Flower; they had been holding their heads high throughout being put under a huge amount of stress or Oliver being thrown into a new place and adapting to the twin's own brand of madness. Hime could go on and on and somehow their friends wouldn't get it.

"Well, I don't know about how I feel about being called a kid, but thanks."

"In comparison to Your Royal Highness, you are a kid." Mikoto commented.

A sly look passed through the group with Maika rolling her eyes. "This stays in here, ok?" The guilty party nodded. "Not that you're wrong."

Yohio perked up instantly. "Red alert! Who are you and what did you do with Maika?"

"Hilarious. Master of comedy over there." Flower said weaving in layers of sarcasm. She did appreciate Yohio's brand of dad jokes despite how she'd never say so.

Hime noticed that a lot. People tended to hide how they actually feel about something even if it was just on something small such as liking a person's jokes. There didn't appear to be a reason behind it and Hime never had a problem seeing through people trying to "play it cool." Maybe it made everyone more comfortable. They did need that kind of relax feeling right now, but it just kept things moving so slowly when people could be way happier being open about how they felt. Although that could be Hime's shipper instinct talking.

"Ok, but are we forgetting something important here?" The people in the room gave Hime a questioning look. "We get to dress you guys up!"

Both Flower and Piko deflated. They can't escape it no matter what, so ha. "Wait, but why would I need to dress up?" He asked visibly concerned about the answer.

"Because if I'm going through this, so are you." Flower remarked back.

Piko sent Yohio and Maika a pleading glance with Maika returning it with a face that gave him a clear answer. "Sorry, but we can't have you standing out too much, or else many important people would be highly questioning our judgment."

"More than they already do. Not many people hire twigs with no questions asked." Yohio appended.

"Hey!"

"It still means that we get to dress up not one but two people." The amount of evilness had doubled much to Hime excitement as well as since no one disagreed that they could help. "Might as well make the best of it."

Flower slid into one of the ratty side chairs showing an understanding that she would just need to deal with the hype. "Easy for you to say."

Despite the royal's apathy, this was some of the most positive energy all of them have had in the past week. Every person in a castle was walking on eggshells, but the messenger common room had practically become a home base that they could drop the formality that no one really liked in the first place. Sure, it was more than a little run down and half the furniture was in desperate need of a patch up, but it was the warmest place they knew of. Everything had a softened edge that made it feel that nothing would hurt them.

Absentmindedly, Hime squirmed next to Flower with the two of them fitting snuggly. It was a known fact that when Hime got sentimental, they were even more of a cuddler and few people were ok with showing that affection. Even Mikoto can get kind of squirmy about it and they're very used to Hime's habits.

Flower ruffled the small kid's hair as they slumped into her side. "Eh, glad that you're going to have fun."

"Well, we do have a lot of planning to do. Maika's been running around like crazy trying to get the materials. The goal is to make it look like we didn't just put this together at the last minute." Yohio laid out.

"So, please don't say anything about our time crunch." No problems there. Hime didn't want to say anything to that dumb king anyways. It wasn't just that he had said mean things to them, but also that he was simply too much to be around. His clothing was too colorful, jewelry was too flashy, and most of all, he was too loud. His voice boomed over Hime's ears and picked at their brain making them just want to curl up and stop hearing anything at all. They snuggled further to their surrogate parent.

"We'll keep it quiet." Mikoto answered for them both. They were the first to tell when Hime was starting to get overwhelmed and was probably the best person for calming them down. At least the common room was a very calming space for them.

The two adults moved to the exited. "Sound good, but we do need to get back to work."

Hime really didn't want her friends to leave, but they got it that they had a lot to get done. Much to their surprise, Flower hadn't moved yet. "Ok, but I'm needed right here, so can I meet up with you guys a bit later?"

"Ok. You know where to find us." Yohio replied before his partner could say anything. Hime would have to thank him later because some cuddles were very appreciated at the current time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're wondering, I do headcanon Hime as autistic and that does kind of reflect my own experience. I love both of the Meikas and they remind me a lot of my brother and I.


	18. Chapter 18

Why is time like this? Events creep up on you and absolutely smack you over the head with how unprepared you are. Flower was experiencing that big-time with the whirlwind of cleaning and prep work that swept through the ball's venue and how fast things were put in place. She did have to credit these guys with their efficiency, but she still wasn't ready for the pageantry show that was about to unfold before them.

There once was a time that Flower looked forward to these parties. The twinkling candles and lights were magical and the graceful music could almost put one into a trance. Of course, any seven-year-old would love it. None of those things really changed, but now Flower knew the logic behind it all, and typically, logic tends to bleach the wonder out. Sad, but true.

Nowadays, the magical stuff came from the moments right before the party where all of the atmosphere was there, but the overwhelming decadency was yet to be found. Flower found herself there at this point; watching from the side and hopefully not calling attention to herself. The ballroom was a circular space in the heart of the palace that vaulted up to a yellow and green slain-glass skylight with a chandelier hanging from the center. Gently gilded arches segmented the walls and made a place for clusters of candles starting to be lit and led to small, higher up windows bathing everything in afternoon light. Flower was never much of a sentimental type, but dang, was everything pretty.

A familiar figure entered, probably meaning to check on the staff's progress, but was now coming over to the lanky girl's area on the floor. "Are you enjoying the sights?" Maika asked.

"I guess."

Maika took a spot against the wall. "Might I ask where Piko is?"

"He said he had to go do something." He most likely shouldn't be running off right now, but Flower didn't want him to have to deal with her tendency to sit and think in atmospheric places for no reason. "Where's our lovely guest?"

"He's already been whisked away to get dressed and you and Piko are very good at defeating the point of a bodyguard." Maika noted.

"I think we'd figured out by now that the whole bodyguard thing wasn't necessary even though I appreciate the company. This guy has more anger management issues than we thought, but there still isn't much he can do." Flower stated more to herself. She'd been trying to convince herself of that since this guy first lost it. He looked like would have hit Hime if Flower didn't intervene and she didn't know if she could step in after it got that far.

"Better safe than sorry. At least, we can say that he wouldn't do anything tonight. No one would want to ruin their standing with that many important figures."

If anything, Flower was more worried about him getting along too well with nobles. "I don't have much I can do there. My standing with those guys got killed when I gave myself a new haircut."

"That's their problem." Flower looked over at the women more than a little surprised. "Not that I liked your choice there, but what's done is done."

"Umm..Thanks?"

Maika was always very good at keeping things professional and having everything on track. After all this time, Flower and Yohio were able to see a more personal side of her, but she wouldn't let that cross her work. If something needed to get done, Maika wasn't about to let things slide especially when it came to keeping Flower in line.

"I thought you hated my hair." She admitted.

It was Maika's turn to look surprised. "I never hated your hair. It...made things difficult, but you honestly seemed happier to have a bit more of your own style."

"It is easier to take care of." Flower noted. It most certainly crossed her mind that she wouldn't have to go through whatever concoction people thought was quality hair care.

Maika threw a joking side-eye in the younger girl's direction. "Don't rub it. Whoever thought that eggs belonged in hair washing had some nerve."

"I couldn't agree more." They'd both lost count of the times they've accidentally made scrambled eggs on their heads because the water they used was too warm. An experience Flower is happy to (hopefully) never have again.

When's the last time they talked like this? A while for sure. Maika of all people had the least amount of time for chit-chat with how she strayed to perfectionism and even when Yohio could badger her into taking a break, she was still connected to the task at hand. It had to be tiring and Flower would have no clue how she does it. Thinking about, she really should be getting on Maika's case more often about taking a breather. It can't be healthy to work the way she does.

"After this is over, all of us should take a trip or something like that." Maika suggested causing a double-take in Flower's thinking.

"I won't argue, but what's up with the sudden change in priorities?"

She smiled. Flower had been noticing that her guardian had been dropping some of the formalities, but this was coming pretty far out of left field. "Well, it dawned upon me that no one was enjoying the strict timeline I was putting everyone on and that included myself. I got more things done, but I was pushing away the people I care about."

"I hope you realized that Yohio would melt into a puddle if he heard you say that." Flower couldn't help herself, really.

"I'm aware of how much of a dork he is." Maika seemed like she had more to add there. "Maybe don't tell him about this one. I'd never hear the end of it."

Flower, donning her infamous smile that screamed 'don't trust this,' sprung to the door. "Good luck with that!"

"Flower, don't you dare!"

The confused look of the staff setting things up was well worth it over the sight of the princess and her closest adviser chasing each other out of the room calling vague threats. It wasn't until a few moments that a reminder of what they probably should be doing appeared; Piko. The quiet person turned the corner just as Flower was shouting where she last saw Yohio much to Maika's dismay, clearly surprised to see them.

"Hey. Just curious, but what's going on?" Piko questioned, appearing much more nervous than usual.

Flower ran her hand through her hair as Maika caught up with her. "Nothing much. How about you? You never said what your mystery errand was."

"I..umm..saw something in the courtyard earlier where some people were doing landscaping and they were pulling up a few of the flower patches, so..." Piko's words trailed off as he held up the long stem of small downward-facing blossoms that hung like tiny, white bells. "I thought it was something you'd like."

It should be illegal for someone to be that cute. Seriously, it wasn't fair. "It's really nice." Flower could tell she was reaching flusteredness levels that she didn't know she was capable of. Now, Maika's having a field day.

"If you'd like, I could get that in some water, and as cute as this is to watch, both of you should start to get really for the party." Whether Maika just saved Flower from 'ah heck, emotions' or not was up for debate, but she was right that they needed to get going.

Piko passed the stalk along to the other lady, equally as awkward as his charge and fully knowing that Maika was doing everything in her power not to outright tease the heck out of them. That would be coming at a later date, just you wait. "You guys haven't really told me where I'm going for dress up."

"Right. We had a very eager volunteer." Flower said in a way that made Piko slightly afraid.

"Knowing you, that can't be good."

The amount of hype and excitement that came from Len when he was told that he was in charge of Piko for the party was unparalleled even by that of Hime. Last time he got to do something like this, he had to be at least sort of professional with Sir Dex and the others there, but this time no such filter was needed, not that he had much of one in the first place. Len was just excited to learn more about one of the only people that Flower trusted that wasn't under 5'2.

So that left the heterochromatic guy at Len's mercy and he was ready to figure some stuff out with his characteristic amount of subtlety. He was given some clothing for Piko and was simply told to 'make it so that stuck-up rich people wouldn't question him', Flower's words not his. Considering that the crowd's attention tonight was going to be divided between a royal figure that no one's seen before and the 'rebel teenage princess,' that wouldn't be too hard to pull off.

A quiet knock rung from Len's door along with something that sounded like you'll be fine caused him to shoot over. It's always nice to be a good host, after all, Len thought, liking the irony of it. Flower and Piko stood outside of the doorway the smaller of two slightly placing himself behind the other like he didn't quite know how to enter the situation and needed someone to set things up. Poor guy's shy.

"Hey. You know what you have to do and please don't scare him." Flower stated bluntly.

Piko sighed with little bite to it. "Well, that makes me feel much better about this. Thanks."

"No reason to worry. He's in good care." Len knew full and well that he wasn't easing anyone's nerves, but also knew that he had a brand in which he had no plans of trying to resist it. "Best of luck in your own dressing adventures."

"Hilarious. Remember that everything has to be done in two hours."

Len gave an exaggerated bow. "Of course. Come on in."

Piko glanced between the two people appearing to not know who to go with despite how he kind of needed to go with the smirking banana boy. With a lack of a different option, he went along with it. This'll be fun.


	19. Chapter 19

Len had to admit that he wasn't nearly as prepared as he thought he was. He might have forgotten to get a chair for his guest among other things and now the panic was setting in. Not Flower on a rough day panic, granted but freaking out a little nonetheless. How is Len supposed to get the tea when he can't even get close to his target?

He and Dex had tried to clean up their shared space, but since neither of them were very organized people and the knight was too much of a chicken to ask Diana to help, it didn't get too far. Clothing shoved into the dresser with Len needing to remember not to open it and papers that really should be organized cluttered the corners became way more obvious. Ok, focus. There is a greater task here.

Piko was already told to change in the corner even though he needed some serious help with the jacket closures to the point that the two of them just decided to leave it open. Whoever had control of wardrobe knew not to give Piko anything too out there, providing a dark-colored coat with light embroidery using most of his normal clothing in there with some cleaning. He seemed to agree with Flower in the area that less frill was better.

"'Kay. Now I'm supposed to break down how this whole party thing is going to go." Len opened, cutting straight to the chase. "You need to not stand out while still letting Ol' Golden Bottoms know that you're there."

"I think that guy's not going to let me forget that he's there." Piko noted crossing his arms over his legs.

Now there's one thing Len wasn't expecting; actual concern. "What do you mean? I heard that he was defensive about you, but I never heard the full story."

"I just don't have a good feeling about this. That person has been getting in Flower's space even when she's made it very clear that she wants to be left alone and I don't know how that's going to play out in a crowd." If his pensive expression was any indication, Piko had been thinking this over for a while.

"If it helps, I think the crowd will work in your favor. He can't act out when that much of his reputation is on the line. Plus, he's hardly the only looking for Flower's attention."

Len couldn't hide it, he had an agenda and this moment was too perfect for it. Both of them would thank him later. "And that means?"

"Wouldn't anyone be a little curious about the mysterious princess that no one really knows. She's not super popular in many circles, but people are still wondering." Len pushed.

"Aren't they in for a surprise."

"Well, aren't you curious?"

Patience was never really Len's thing. "I have no clue what you're talking about." Piko stated awkwardly curling in from his spot on Len's bed, not enjoying the interrogation.

"Come on. You've never actually been here when Flower's had to be doing more public official business especially with other interested parties." Work with me here dang it, he thought.

"All that means is that my job gets a bit harder. Flower has her own thing going on and I need to not get in the way."

It took all of Len willpower to not facepalm right then and there. These two pretty much had the exact same problem; thinking that they're standing in the way of each other causing them to be all weird. Honestly, this isn't some dramatic romance novel. If you like someone, make a move regardless of class or any crud like that and anyone who would disagree doesn't matter that much anyway. Len really just wanted to see his friends happy, but they're the ones stopping that from happening.

They're not going to get it unless he shoves the facts in their faces. Len sighed. "I know you like her. Fukase and I figured it out in the span of ten minutes."

Piko, whether he knew it or not, flushed red almost immediately confirming Len's words and leaving him stumbling to find anything to say in his defense, tensing up noticeable while his eyes were planted to the ground. Not that this kind of reaction was uncalled for. Crushes and stuff like that are a weird time as Len would know and having someone call you out unannounced is at least a bit shocking, but Piko really needed to take the chance getting handed to him.

"Is it that obvious?" He asked after a few moments.

"Hate to break it to you, but yeah."

"I'm guessing Fukase pointed it out while he was here?"

At least his intuition is on point. "Yep." It was actually kind of cute how much Fukase knew about his peoples. There was no way that Piko could hide how flustered he got around Flower from him and Len could tell pretty easily when she was going out of the way for someone. He and Fuka basically got to swap notes.

Some of that flusterness was coming through right here. Neat "Has Flower said anything?"

"No. I can assure you that she would say something if she was aware." For better or for worse. Being completely honest, Flower can be pretty bad at emotion particularly when it's her own.

"What should I do?"

Now those were the words Len was waiting to hear. "Well, first of all, we can't have you going in with that many fly-aways, so it's hair time. Hime has perfected my braiding skills." No doubt that Piko was aware of what he got himself into by this point as Len climbed to the area behind him. As much as Len was joking, the guy did need some light helping but never fear.

"Ok, but that's not exactly what I'm asking about although I do appreciate what you're doing." Piko noted as Len sectioned off the upper layer of his style.

"Frankly, you're doing fine in other areas. Flower's wack about her feelings and can be incredibly stubborn, so it'll take her a while to get what's going on let alone understand how she fits into the picture." He explained hoping that it would clear up some confusion. "If it helps, you already get along great with the younger ones, and that's a pretty important thing to her."

"Well, how can you not? As crazy they are, they're insanely endearing." No arguing there.

"See what I mean? You're both as sappy over cute kids, but now I do need to work." Half of Piko's hair was slowly being looped into an upper french braid with the rest falling above his shoulders with, hopefully, fewer tangles which was good since it was starting to dawn on Len that he was probably out of time. The yellowy blonde climbed in front of the other person taking a moment to smooth his work before pulling Piko to his feet.

"Time to get going?"

Len nodded. "Yep. The ladies would have our heads if we were late."

Piko smiled playfully for pretty much the first time since he was put in his current situation. "Nah, you'd be the one under fire."

"Wow, rude."

Len had to admit, the gravity of what was going on was starting to hit him. He wasn't just dressing up a friend for a little party, but giving him the slight visual chance of not dying while he gets thrown to the wolves. That would be enough to intimidate anyone, yet somehow it didn't shake Len all that much. Sure, Piko was most likely freaking out and Flower wanted to get out of this as soon as possible, but they had each other's back. Plus, any unfortunate person to mess with them would be dealing with a pack of mischievous preteens out for revenge.

"It took you people long enough. Guests are filling the place." The two enter a small back hall that Flower and her advisers were supposed to enter from to find themselves to be the last ones to show up. Hime, the self-proclaimed leader of prepping Flower for the night, was quick to drag them over with Piko freezing when he saw what they were so proud of. Len had no interest whatsoever, but Flower looked really nice and it was causing Piko to short-circuit.

Len bent down to the bundle of energy. "Mission accomplished?"

Hime's pleased grin was all the answer he needed. "Obviously!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To start, sorry about no chapter last week. Monday was my first day back at in-person school, so my Sunday consisted of checking my papers and freaking out. On a brighter note, I was having a bit of a tough time focusing on writing while working on this, but I like how it turned out in the end.   
> Of course, stay safe out there.


	20. Chapter 20

Piko swore that this night would be the death of him. Hime and Len were reaching new levels of evilness by sending him into this hallway with no warning leaving him pretty much needing to pick his jaw up off of the floor. A heads up would have been nice.

He did have to hand it to whoever decided styling for the group. Yohio had something in a similar vein as his normal wear in soft shades of gray that made his pale blonde hair stand out with more jazzed up decoration that mirrored Piko's while Maika was given a rosy pink gown with fitted sleeves and a full skirt in large contrast to her usually practicality, but worked well. Although, all of that was a distant second thought.

Flower also seemed to be looking over the people around her, hopefully causing her to not notice Piko going as red as Fuka hair. She had been given a long scarlet-colored dress with a wide neckline showing the hem of a cream underlayer leading to bunched sleeves ending at her elbows. Maika also brushed back her hair into a set of pins and somehow convinced Flower to use a small amount of make-up to even her skin tone. What was slightly more surprising was how Flower didn't look like she knew or cared that she was about to walk straight into a fancy warzone as she was way more preoccupied with explaining things to her children. That alone deserved huge amounts of respect.

"Ok, we need to get in there. Remember, as much as you may want to smack people for ignorance, that is in no way an option." Maika briefed concerning Flower, having more than enough awareness of her typical antics.

Flower eyed her, annoyed. "Have some faith in me. Also, the three musketeers need to stay out of this area."

"But, what about getting food?" Hime asked pulling their puppy eyes out nudging for Oliver and Mikoto to back them up.

"I'll sneak you some later, so please limit the snooping." The smaller ones glanced at each other before appearing to accept the deal. "Great. With luck, we'll see you in an hour."

Sadly, Piko knew that this whole thing wouldn't be that easy, but he didn't feel like being the downer to point that one out. Who knows, maybe it'll fun. Piko would be lying if he said that he wasn't at least curious about the infamous food and who knows what other good things could happen.

"Does everyone remember the seating arrangement?" Yohio questioned seeing as the group was just about ready to go in.

"Yep." The first part of all of this was what would be the hardest for Piko to pull off; dinner. One would think that eating food is the easiest thing at a party, but the catch was that there were so many little etiquette rules that everyone else had been practicing for most of their lives meanwhile Piko was given a chaotic crash course in a single hour. It'd be a dead giveaway if he messed that up with no way to hide in the crowd.

The two advisers move in front of Flower with Piko bringing up the back, him being careful to leave enough space as to not step on her dress. "Good luck out there."

"You got this." Flower whispered turning behind her.

"I really hope so."

The door at the end of the hall opened slowly filling the room with golden light from the ballroom as they were all led down the grand staircase opening up to lined banquet tables already seating guests. Piko's stomach churched with nerves, yet the others continued forward. It took all of his willpower not to duck his head, but there was a very specific rule to not shy away due to that only drawing more attention. As Flower put it, you're with the needlessly fancy people, act like it and no one will question.

By now, the only goal was to not trip like an idiot and get to the chairs without faceplanting into the floor. How anyone with gowns managed the task was completely beyond Piko. Based on the appearance of his cohort, somehow the three of them were keeping those sorts of worrying far out of their visuals, staying aloof expression wise with heads held high though it was clear the Flower wasn't as calm. If there's one thing Piko's learned from helping the occasional person getting fitted by Miki, it's that there is a definitive difference between relaxed posture and 'get me the heck out of here' posture.

Now, the true obstacle was within view. King Howard was given the head of the center table as his place with Maika and Yohio seated on one side of him and the two teenagers being across from them. Despite how all of them had something they were supposed to do at the moment, the first thing that Piko noted was how the King was reaching new heights of extravagance that shouldn't even be possible. Nearly everything on him was in some shade of gold with dark purple serving for accents under finary that had to weigh more than Piko himself. All things screamed, 'I'm way richer than you, peasant' with absolutely no shame.

As Piko was taking a second to figure out what the sparkly monstrosity before him was, the advisers had already moved to their side of the table, Yohio pulling out Maika's chair as a formality. It was then that the still-functioning part of Peeks brain realized, hey, I need to do that too with the whole sitting next to the fricking princess thing going on.

Flower was really trying to hold back her smirk. "Wow, what a gentleman."

"No comment." Did Piko say that this night was going to be the death of him because he now knew he was 100 percent wrong. Flower was going to be.

Beside them, a loud-ish cough was heard drawing attention back to King Howard as he was just barely signaled to stand and say a few words "Good evening, my fellow guests. Before we continue, I would like to propose a toast to our lovely hostess, Princess Flower, and her advisers for their hospitality." He held up his glass of red wine prompting the others at the table to do the same only for both Flower and Piko to see that one out of the three glass cups at their spots (Seriously, why three cups per person?) also had a pool of alcohol in it and another had water.

Seeing as two seventeen-year-olds weren't about to be trying wine for the first time that night, Piko glance over to find Flower going for her water glass letting him know to do the same. With nearly rehearsed gracefulness, everyone brought the cups to a level just above their shoulders before taking a sip of varying sizes.

"Water buddies?" Piko whispered as the food was starting to come out stealing the peoples' attention.

Flower smiled now holding her glass at the height of the table. "Here's to being able to walk later."

"Does it get that crazy?" Piko's only dealt with a Fukase that snuck one too many free beer samples before, so his experience with drunk people was pretty low.

"For some, now cheers before the audience stops staring at a butchered pig." The small clink went unnoticed amongst the shuffling dishes, but it still lightened the tension lingering in the back of Piko's mind.

Conversations cropped up within the groups of guests making Piko feel like maybe he can get away with joking a bit with Flower, but the person on her other side had other plans. "You appear to be enjoying yourself. This is a very nice venue." The sickly sweet politeness caused Flower to tighten up again and harden her expression.

"I can hardly take credit. Lady Maika and Lord Yohio did most of the technical planning." The unspoken words being 'so why don't you talk to them.'

"I would believe you to have some hand in it knowing your certain style." The King stated, grinning much like how nobles were eyeing the main course. This guy really didn't know how to take a hint even when it's moments from smacking him upside the head.

Flower definitely seemed to take notice yet, by some miracle, held her impartiality together. "It's not exactly my area. Others have a much better sense of design."

"If you insist. Whoever chose your wardrobe must have known your taste very well. You look quite charming." And somehow, he got creepier. Flower looked seconds from gagging and Piko was right along with her.

Finally, Maika swooped in to save them. "I'll pass along a good word to our seamstress." She launched off into her own questions about his attire hopefully stopping his idea of chatting, understanding that this was a person the would love nothing more than to explain why he got all the jewels from even if it meant not being a total creep for two seconds. Suffice to say, this'll be a long night.


	21. Chapter 21

One downside of a circular ballroom was that there were no freaking corners to hide in which was a shame since Flower’s never wanted to do just that more. The meal part of this whole thing wasn’t the worst due to everyone having a place that was outside of Flower’s personal space, but when the dancing started and more drinks got carried out, that might as well have been thrown out the window. Of course, there was very little she could do about it. You can’t say no to the nobility of “your people.”

It was barely ten minutes into the choreographed part of the night and four people had already requested a dance and per the laws of ego-inflated fancy boys, Flower had to say yes, penciling their name into a small book of songs. She wasn’t even that good at dancing; average at best although she knew that was far from the reason behind it.

Some people were curious, and Flower couldn’t blame them for that. The issue was when others expected her to be some blushing, shy princess that would fawn over the first guy that looks her way as if they completely forgot Flower’s whole rep. That’s where things went south fast. To put it lightly, a mass of over-confidence wasn’t attractive. Frankly, it made no sense why those people thought they could sweep her off her feet with wealth and power; she’d always have them outmatched, not that Flower was looking for that anyway. Sadly, ‘wanting to hang out with a cute guard that isn’t a certified creep’ isn’t a valid excuse to turn someone down.

“Your Majesty.” A stout man in a ruffled costume leaned into a bow a few feet from Flower, standing along one of the curved walls. “If I may have the honor of a dance this evening?”

Here we go again. “Did you have a song in mind?”

“Yes. I was told that Sonate da Chiesa would be played la--”

“Hey, Flower, Maika has a leaf or two on the hem of her dress and you have a better chance of telling her than me.” Piko informed walking up from beside the center crowd. Flower wasn’t sure if she should hug him for getting her out of that or hit him.

The small-ish guy looked like he was voting for the latter. “Excuse me, but you would benefit from learning some respect. Do you have any idea who you are talking to?”

“Oh..umm… my apologies.” Ruffle apparently wasn’t good with just that. “Princess.” He dipped into his own less exaggerated bow.

Well, might as well use this to an advantage. Flower stood up straighter and put on her best annoyed face. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to have a word with this one.” Piko paled as the other grinned smugly.

“Of course.”

If looks could kill, Piko would be dead twenty times over. “That was really stupid on your part.”

“Sorry. I didn’t see him.” Piko interlaced his hands behind his back with his head tilted downward as if he was getting the scolding of a lifetime.

“I can’t blame you there, but Ruffle’s probably keeping an eye on us, so I need to look like I’m mad at you.”

Realization dawned on Piko’s face. “So you don’t care?”

“Nah. You saved me from having to dance with another dude twice my age and half my height.” On the bright side, after a few songs, people will hopefully figure out that Flower wasn’t about to match the perfect dance polish they're bringing to the table and stop asking.

“Oh, ok. Is that normal?” He asked, moving to lean against the same wall.

“Sadly, yes, but people’ll get the hint once the songs get going.”

Flower smoothed one of her unruly hairpins while Piko raised a questioning look. “Get the hint of what?”

“That I suck at this stuff. In case you haven’t noticed, graceful traditions aren’t exactly my thing especially when everyone here thinks that they’re the best at it.” She stated, shrugging.

“Not everyone. I know for a fact that I’m worse at it.”

“Fair.” At least, he’ll never have to test his skills. Ballroom crap is one of the biggest tests of class and nothing pulls more attention than screwing up in a dance where all the other people have it down to a science. Flower was an exception to the rule since she could never shake attention around here, but Piko needed all of the blending in he could get. “But no one’s asked you for a song.”

“Who would want to?”

Admittedly, no one, but Piko was most likely aware of that, so he would mind a little joking. “Eh, don’t sell yourself short. I’d much rather dance with you than the next inflated ego that walks over here.”

“Now that’s a high bar to cross.” Piko countered.

“Clearly. I have very high standards.” Easy sarcasm laced over both of their words that were usually reserved for relaxed moments when Flower got to just be like everyone else. No titles, status, just one of the guys.

“Quick question, can any guest request a dance?”

Flower wasn’t born yesterday. She got where this was going. “Technically...”

It took all of her self-restraint to not laugh as Piko stepped slightly away from Flower, bowing like a “proper gentleman” while his face was getting redder by the second. “Would I be able to have the, umm..honor of a dance?”

“You realize Maika’s going to be unbelievably peeved at you?”

Piko leaned back up. “Yeah, I know.”

“Do you know any songs?”

“No…” Well, Flower’s high standards have been more than cleared. God, he’s such a dork. “Do you have a favorite?”

“If by favorite you mean a song that I could lead both of us through with making a fool of ourselves, then yes.” Due to outdated traditions, in one of these things ‘the man should take the lead,’ so Piko would need to kind of look like he understood what was going on. Flower herself could care less and the same applied to her peoples, but sadly, everyone else there hadn’t exactly gotten with the program of gender equality. “Just follow my lead and don’t look at your feet. This song is basically a box step with some arm stuff going on, so you’ll be fine.”

“Sounds good. I didn’t realize that there were specific dances for each song.” Piko noted as Flower looked over her small list of pieces.

“Yeah, and it’s pretty annoying if you ask me.” Flower could go her entire life without sitting through another one of Maika and Yohio’s attempts at teaching her the routines.

Piko shrugged. “I just always thought that people went along with it. It’s not like I’ve had a ton of references, but whenever parties show up in a story no one’s racking their brain to remember what steps to use.”

“Nope. Nothing that looks pretty here was just an accident. Heck, people measured out 50 centimeters in between each plate set at dinner.”

“Why?”

The single more plaguing question in all of fancy-land. “No idea. I don’t think anyone knows why, but we still do that stuff.” Welcome back to 90 percent of the things Flower needs to do because a bunch of royal dead guys said so.

“Huh.” A small amount of dumbfoundment crossed his voice as Flower started leading them out to the polish tiles that made up the dance space.

“It’s really weird, but before we get catching was how dumb ballroom traditions are, the song’s about to start.”

Suddenly, Piko looked a little less sure of his plan. “Wait, it’s one of the first songs?”

“Yeah. it’s more of a warm for people which means that a lot of guests are going to participate. If either of us slip up, odds are no one’s going to notice.” Flower explained. The two of them fell in an empty spot along the outer circle of dancers taking slight note of a few stares they were gaining.

It was at this point that Piko knew full and well that he didn’t think this through. Sure, his parents had pained themselves to teach him and Miki some sort of dance form from the occasional local wedding or holiday, but no person there expects a nine-year-old to perfectly get what was going on. From what he could remember, that first thing was a bow between both people in which Piko just needed to not fall over.

Thankfully, task complete as Flower balled up two handfuls of her skirt to curtsy and also dipped down.

“That’s a lot of skirt.” He commented as a master stater of the obvious.

“You’re telling me. I’m going to weigh this thing later and report back.” She offered her right hand out to the side motioning him to follow the lead of the others around them getting into position. Another tiny oversight; this kind of thing involved physical contact. Crud.

Before Piko had time to react, Flower placed his hand on her waist and her hand on his shoulder. “I don’t bite, but the prissy old people do if you’re not in time.”

“Umm..yeah.”

The small orchestra struck up a gentle yet segmented melody that matched the more firm steps that composed the dance. Flower was right that she could lead her not very coordinated partner through the motions while Piko was resisting all urges to look at his feet instead of watching the moves from the couple in front of them in a box step. In all honesty, he had to be looking about as graceful as a toddler on ice stakes.

“Are you ok?” Flower asked quietly, appearing to be a mix of sympathetic and about to laugh.

“Doing great.”

About to laugh looked to be the main expression now. “Good. There’s going to be a twirl.” Fear must have flashed across Piko’s face. “It’ll be ok. Just hold up your arm, have a loose grip, and I’ve got the rest.”

When she finished speaking, the pairs around them did just that leading to Piko really hoping that he was too offbeat. Flower put a bit of space between them giving herself room to turn, flaring out her dress and flipping her hand in one movement before resuming their starting position. Whatever she was saying about being a bad dancer was a bunch of bull.

“See, that wasn’t so bad.”

“I guess.”

The song slowed to an end prompting the pairs to share one last bow before clearing off for the next set. “How did we do that?”

“Well, give yourself some more credit. For your first full dance, you weren’t too bad.” Because that’s the standard Piko was trying to pass. “Plus, you’re good company.”

“You too.” Thanks for dealing with my not very thought out ideas, he mentally commented. He would have said more, but both of them noticed footsteps leading right behind them and the attention of the crowd seem glue to it. A chill ran across Piko’s back.

King Howard stood looming before the two of them, eyes planted on Flower. “Hello, Princess. Would I be able to have a word with you?”


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for assault

What’s his game? You don’t just call someone away from a party thrown in your honor for no reason and Flower didn’t trust any of this in the slightest. In fact, she didn’t trust the King as far as she could dropkick him.

King Howard stalked ahead of her down a long corridor that connected to the heart of the palace, venturing further from the ball and away from the other guests. The hall was used as a way to display pieces of art, but that didn’t stop the carvings and statues from casting looming shadows across the darkened walls. Flower wasn’t a very superstitious person and even she took that as a bad sign of things to come. Even the sounds of the no doubt loud party couldn’t be heard. Where was he going? Flower didn’t think Maika and Yohio showed him this part of the grounds.

Finally, King Howard stopped at one of the last sets of large doors at the back of the castle that Flower wasn’t a stranger to; the library. Although it now holds many memories of trying to understand government and countless lectures, some part of the library is comforting. A younger Flower had spent many mornings trying to figure out the best plan of action to sneak in to “steal” a few books to smuggle back to her hideout, always getting caught in the process and no one caring as long as she brought them back later. The only question was why was she brought here now to supposedly just ‘talk’?

He bowed slightly as he held the door open. “Please, sit. I have much to discuss with you.”

“Is it important enough that you need to miss the party?” And that you need to talk to me without anyone else around, she questioned in her head.

“Well, it seemed that in this whole visit, I’ve hardly had any time to speak with you.” The King stated, dripped with faux sweetness. He walked further into the back of the room where a few tables were setup and pulled out one of the chairs for Flower to take a seat. Just go with it without getting him mad and then get back to other people. Just get it over with.

Sounds easy enough. “Now might not be the best time.”

“It looks like it’s the only time I’ll get.”

Then spit it out so we can all do something else with our time. “What do you need to talk about?”

He smiled eerily, letting the dim lamps of the space reflect off his clothing and darken the forming folds of his skin. “It’s your parents.”

Ice shot through Flower’s vein. Her parents? What does he want with them? Why would he want to talk about the one thing that she could hardly keep her composure together with? Her stance tightened and expression steeled for whatever could come next.

“They would like to see you. And have you visit my kingdom.”

“Why?” The question slipped out before Flower could stop it.

King Howard brushed it away like that was exactly what he was waiting for her to ask. “As I’m sure someone as intelligent as you would know, our cultures have many stark differences that you could only truly understand if you saw them firsthand. When I came to power, my dear mother, the Queen had taught me for long years how to lead and gave me decades to watch her example until I was ready for that role and--”

“Excuse me, but decades?” Flower tried to stop her surprise from entering her tone, but dang.

He clearly didn’t find that question nearly as interesting to answer. “Yes… the Queen wanted to be very.. certain that I was ready for her task and sadly, she never got to see it through on her own.”

“Oh.”

“But it showed me how to rule gracefully with great success and that is what your parents want to give you. Especially since you’ll find yourself on the throne sooner than you’d expect.” He explained appearing the bask in his own ‘glory.’

There still wasn’t something right. “Why would I be crowned sooner than I expect?”

“Why, it’s the plan of your family. Who wouldn't want to take an early retirement when they have such an heir to take over?” What? That’s the last thing Flower wanted. Of course, she knew that someday that’s her job and she’d long since accepted that fact of life, but she still had other things she wanted to do before she got hurled into that responsibility. “Above all, they want our kingdoms to build a strong relationship.”

“I’m sorry, King Howard--”

His unsetting grin returned. “You may call me Leon.”

Hah, no. “There’s no way that I’d be in that position for at least a few years. My parents can handle this.”

“But, what about them simply wanting to see you?”

“What about you simply letting them come home to see me instead?” Her voice raised.

No no no no no… Flower had been thinking that the moment this person had gotten here, but above all else, she couldn’t let him know. She couldn’t give him any more power over her, over the people she loved. She couldn’t let him see weakness.

The King stood up, straightening his normally curved back scowling. “I don’t think you know what you are dealing with. I wish to be civil with you, but you don’t have a choice in the matter.” He placed himself next to Flower and put his hand over her’s on her lap.

No second sooner did she yank it away and move to stand. “Do not touch me.”

And that was the final straw. His face contorted with anger as he pulled Flower’s arm violently behind her to restrain her gestures. Her chair clattered to the ground as she kicked one of her small-heeled shoes into his shins causing the King to stumble back while she tried to run. Courtesy be damned. It’s time to go.

The only problem was Flower’s stupid dress; left tangled, ripping, and stuck in her fallen seat giving Howard just enough time to latch on to her. “You insolent girl! You’re coming with me whether you like it or not!”

“Get away from me!” She yelled, trying to wrench her gown out of his grasp.

He stood, hands clutching the skirt around Flower’s leg and pinning her sleeves together as she struggled. Flower wasn’t weak by any means, but her beanpole stature wasn’t enough to break away. “No. It was difficult enough to get your parents to write me into this place and I’m not leaving without what I came for!”

“You just came here for this?” Flower still rammed herself away from him. “And you threatened my parents for it?”

“Hardly threatening I’d call it.” He leaned next to her ear. “I cut them a deal. If you came with me, I’d let them go. It seemed like a fair trade, Princess.”

No. “They wouldn’t do that.”

“Are you sure?” At this point, the King knew that he had Flower regardless of her resistance and was just able to toy with her. “The people would much prefer that trade. The King and Queen knew what they were doing and the people loved them for it, but you? All they see from you is a little, rebellious teenager that understands nothing and hides from them.”

“It’s not my fault!” She screamed as her knee buckled against a blow to her trapped legs. “I never asked for any of this!”

“Well, we don’t always get what we want. I never asked to wait until I was in my 50s to take the throne, yet here we are!”

Flower felt a sharp ache in her wrists as her attacker pulled her arms back to fully stop her motion and coarse material wrapped around the area in insurance. “Someone’s going to notice!” Would anyone notice that she was gone from the ballroom and look for her?

“It’ll be too late by th--” A loud thunk blared as the King fell away.

Flower launched to her feet and rushed away from the table before turning behind her to see the third party. Piko stood frozen over the curled up form of the King hold one of the large dictionaries in hands, dropped it to run to Flower, both heading straight to the library doors. “Are you ok?” Piko asked frantically. “You had to follow that guy and it looked weird, so I followed behind and I hear screaming and-”

“Calm down.” She ordered.

Piko reached a hand to the back of his neck. “That’s my job after all. To be the calm one here.”

“That doesn’t matter right now.”

“Yeah, ok.” Piko took a moment to look over the other person while Flower concluded that she physically felt and looked worst for wear. The pain of newly formed bruises ached on her legs and lower arms as the adrenaline faded and her gown had seen better days. “But are you ok?”

Flower almost laughed. “On all accounts, no, but we don’t have much time to worry about that.” Grunts radiated from the layers of bookshelves. Old King Fancy-Bottoms wasn’t gonna stay down for long. “We need to get out of here. Now.”


	23. Chapter 23

Miki’s heart raced as she ran along the long dirt road leading to the castle spurred on by a mob that couldn’t have been too far behind her. Fukase had wanted to take off for the palace the moment he heard that anyone would be threatening his family, but she had convinced him to hold off until they could get more information. Sure, there had been unrest in town, but storming the castle? Isn’t that going a little too far?

Clearly not, all things considered, since now the two of them needed to hightail it out there before things could get too bad. It’s bound to look very bad that a pair of random townspeople would be showing up with a security threat in the middle of a royal ball, but there weren’t many other options. Miki still didn’t think that anyone would be violent although it would be worth warning them so anyone at the castle wouldn’t attack the protesters in defense. All she wanted to do was stop anybody from getting hurt.

“We’re close!” Fukase yelled over his shoulder albeit unnecessarily. The lights of their destination shined in the distance glowing out of every window contrasting against the now darkened sky as it slowly got closer.

The wind whistled past Miki with the night chill settling in. “Sounds great.” How did Peeks run this far?

That didn’t look to be bothering Fukase in the slightest, still pushing ahead with full determination to stop anything from going wrong despite the doubt that it could be too late. Even if it was, he probably wouldn’t stop. Miki never heard the full extent of Fuka’s history, but she knew enough to understand his desperation. If a two-man brigade would help him feel a bit more at peace, then who was Miki to stop him?

The lights grew closer. Their game plan was to go in the side entrance where the deliveries would go and find any of their known people to pass along the message. No one in their right mind would just take the word of a pair of randos, but you can’t exactly argue with the word of the princess and her advisers. Hopefully, that’d be enough to get everyone out of harm’s way.

“Remember, we need to be quiet.” Miki stated as they watched a pair of guards go inside.

Fukase rolled his eyes. “Of course. I’m one of the quietest people you know.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” She made a shushing motion while starting to dash indoors.

The hall’s lights were dimmed and only the soft light emitted from outside shown in, reflecting off the polished walls and lamps. Sadly, this wasn’t the time to admire fine architecture and it wasn’t helping with figuring out which corridor led to the ballroom. Faint music could be heard, but that wouldn’t guarantee that whatever hall they followed would go to that location. Suddenly the architecture seemed much more annoying than pretty.

Without warning, Fukase started down the walkway. “I think it’s this way.”

“How would you know?” We can’t be basing this off of a gut feeling or something like that.

“Just trust me on this.” He called behind him. “I’ve got a good feeling about this direction and it’s not like we can just ask the next guard where to go.”

“That still sounds like a quick way to get more lost.” Miki followed along regardless. There’s no way she’d let them get separated right off the bat.

“We’re at a main door. I would hardly say we’re lost.”

Why did Fuka need to be insufferable at all of the worst times? “That’s not the point.”

The two of them could bicker like that until the end of time; trading remarks over the most stupid of things while Piko watched on in confusion and Oliver joked that they needed to get the popcorn. Of course, that’s in normal times when the building they currently in wasn’t about to be under siege.

“Who’s there?” A voice shouted through Miki and Fukase’s comments from a bend in the interior, sounding defensive and under that, afraid. Understandably, any person here wouldn’t be welcoming for two ‘hobos’ that straight-up broke in, but it sounded like this someone was just shaken to their core and hadn’t recovered.

The issue was that the voice was too familiar. Piko and Flower inched around the corner causing Miki to have a double-take not only because this is some strange timing, but also because the princess, in particular, looked to be in bad shape. Dress completely torn along the edges as if someone tangled it in a thorn bush and discolored bluish-purple bruises splayed across her visible skin as Flower tried to carry her own weight without leaning on Piko. Peeks may not have been physically beat-up, but shock and cautiousness plagued his features.

“What happened to you?” Fukase questioned bluntly and a little more than concerned.

Flower tried again to stand completely on her own. “Why are you guys here?”

“That doesn’t matter right now. What the hell happened? It looks like you just lost a fight with a temperamental horse.”

Both of them winced slightly. “Close enough. Replace temperamental horse with a temperamental king and you’ve got it.” Flower noted, the joke not matching the clear shaken demeanor of them both.

“He did that?” Fukase wasn’t even trying to keep his voice down now and Miki felt no need to stop him. “Why the hell would he attack you guys?”

Thundering footsteps rang across the floor causing Flower and Piko to focus on their surroundings before Piko spoke up. “We can explain later, but we really need to go.”

“And you need to explain why you’re here.” She added, speed walking away as fast as her injuries would allow.

Right, Miki had things to warn them about despite the terrible timing. “Well, you’re going to be having some other… guests tonight.”

“Guests?” Miki knew her brother well enough to know that he wasn’t great under pressure let alone under attack, but there was no way around this one.

Sadly, Fukase beat her to it. “Over half the town in storming up here to riot about tax money being spent on parties.”

“Waita’ break the new gently!” Does he have no situational awareness?

“We don’t exactly have time for that.” Fukase turned his attention to the pair leading the way. “You need to talk to your advisers and tell them what’s happening including the King’s meltdown and fast.”

“That’s the plan!” They tried to pick up the pace, but the stumbling steps still gained ahead like the person was hurling themselves forward with reckless abandon. Seeing as Flower got away the first time, King Howard wouldn’t have been in the best shape, so how would he catch up to them? Honestly, who designed this castle’s layout? Miki really wanted to have a talk with them after all this crap. Okay, still not the time for architecture ranting.

Piko glanced back. “We’re close!”

“But not close enough.” A tight breath sucked in through their teeth. “You’d think a princess that’s lived here her whole life would know the passageways in her own palace.”

King Howard limped out from a crossing path, almost collapsing forward and if Miki thought Flower got hurt, then the King was nearly incapacitated. What used to have been detailed bead and jewel work was unraveled and leaving a trail of glittering pieces behind him falling from his hunched back making it appear that Flower nailed him hard in the gut. “You can't get away this time.”

He continued forward. “I’ve got you now and no one else can get in the way.”

“Are you sure about that?” Three small figures dashed out from the crossroads with one other lagging back. “Did you really think we wouldn’t keep an eye on these guys tonight?”

“Len?”

“Kids!?”


	24. Chapter 24

"What the hell are you doing here?" Flower asked as the group quickly scattered throughout the intersections leaving her to use Len as a glorified walking stick.

"Helping! Wasn't that obvious?"

Now really wasn't the best time for witty remarks. "Ok, then why did you bring the three musketeers with you?"

"Well, they were already a part of our plan for tonight, but that got turned on its head and they're here now regardless." Len explained rounding a corner. A constant flurry of footsteps and shouted taunts could be heard along with the disoriented sound of the King trying to focus on multiple targets. God, what idiot brings preteens to a straight-up rampage where they could get the crud kicked out of them? Oh right.

Wait a second. "You people had a plan for tonight?"

"...Yes." Len looked like he was going to kick himself. "We might have been trying to setyouupwithPiko." The last part coming out as if it were one long word that Len really didn't want Flower to figure out. Sadly for him, Len's not that lucky.

"I can't believe you." Hime dashed past the two of them with the assailant sounding not too far behind, shoe squeaking on the floor and the smaller person's squeals breaking up the conversation. "This isn't over."

"Yes, ma'am!" They ran ahead without much direction, the pathways blending together. Stone towered over them as the spaces slowly got taller and more vaulted. Flower mentally tried the piece together where they were, but all that was obvious in the darkness was that they weren't anywhere near the ballroom anymore. Concentration fled from her mind in the chaos and shouts and each bruise on her leg feeling like it gained its own tiny heartbeats tearing mercilessly at Flower's navigation. She must have broken something back there and it wasn't helping anything.

Just keep going. There's no room for staying still even when no one had a clue where they were going. Why couldn't she remember where they were? Why could she put her finger on the clues that would explain their location? It was like Flower's head was swirling in on itself in crashing waves.

More shouts, remarks, footsteps, running, panic. Everyone was clearly with the group, but how would anyone know if someone got left behind or hurt? More running. God, this hurt. Was that stupid monarch feeling that same pain or was his adrenaline blocking it out? Flower hoped it wasn't. More yells. God, was it loud.

"Guys! I found the door!" Both Flower and Len's heads snapped up to the sound of Fukase's voice slicing through her string of thoughts. Sensory details flooded back, revealing the nighttime glow of a vast entryway at the end of the last intersection of paths to the main door. Piko and Oliver scrambled from the left hall almost sliding into the corner with the twins shooting out from the opposite side followed by Miki. At least everyone is accounted for.

The bigger issue came from the noise outside. Flower would think that the various distraction tactics from her friends would create the most noise from how it made her head spin, but that was easily out-classed by the other commotion behind the doors.

"Everyone, out now!" Miki started to open the front.

Piko was the first to respond back. "Wait. We're going straight into that mob you warned us about?"

"Do you have a better idea?" Flower was sad to say that she couldn't think of anything and since all of them were together now, there was no way that King Howard didn't know where they were.

At the very least, it didn't sound like anyone was pounding on the door as the group unlocked it and stumbled outside. She could only imagine how this must have looked; four people from this town, two other random kids, and the dang princess running into a mob looking like they escaped a wild bull chase. Quiet gasps and whispers rose up with a healthy dash of confusion. Well, it was definitely better yelling.

Disappointingly, that wouldn't last very long.

"Princess, it really isn't becoming to start a scene like this. Especially in front of your subjects." King Howard was trying to hold his head high and put on his 'I'm not phased' act, but his clear limp and the fact that large scrapes of fabric were trailing behind him gave away the ruse. But, leave it to this guy to keep on mocking anyway.

"Leave her alone! You've done more than enough already." Piko defended. He really doesn't give up, does he? Flower might as well return the favor.

The King still held up his haughty smile. "But, what did I do? Are you truly going to stand there slandering the name of such a respected person? Anyone here could see that you children are out of your depth and any word you say could be a gross exaggeration."

"And that's where you're wrong." Old Howard could say whatever he wanted to Flower. He already did, and it's annoying, hurtful, and all of that other good stuff, but the line is drawn at trying to turn their own home against her friends. Flower had no right to say that these were 'her people'; they didn't know her nor did they care about her and that's fine, but they did care about Piko's family and there was no way that she'd let her actual peoples believe otherwise. Fukase was eyeing the mob warily as if they could spring at him any moment, so there was some doubt on whether the others felt the same.

It doesn't matter. None of them were going to stand for this. "You've done plenty here from the moment you showed up spanning to long before that. Heck, within the first ten minute of arrival, you yelled and nearly smacked a child with us needing to put all of this together just to pacify you! I wouldn't even say you were welcome here from the start since you admitted to threatening the King and Queen to let you enter in the first place along with threatening all of us to hand over our resources or else you'd burn our outer settlements to the ground!"

Affronted protests rang out from the people. Glad to get that secret out of the bag.

"You have no real proof. You're just spouting nonsense!" Howard tried to counter.

"How about the fact that my parents haven't been home in three years in your "peace negotiations" that have amounted to a load of nothing or that you assaulted and tried to kidnap me? I think there's plenty of proof for that!" Flower just had to let it rip by now, but there was still another elephant in the room to address. "These people have evidence from all the things we've needed to take from them to meet your demands. I really wished I could have helped more and above all, I'm sorry for how epically I let them down, but we are done with it. This isn't going to happen anymore."

"And how do you expect to do that?"

"By arresting you." There's something to gain by not being the most flashy in a crowd such as being able to use chaos to your advantage. There's also something gained from basic knight and guard training where one of the first things you learn is how to bind someone's wrists. Piko had those skills down solid and the deposit of nice material around and a few extra helpers weren't making things any more difficult. "Considering how I was there for the attempted kidnap and how I'm supposed to protect Flower from things like this, it's best not to try anything else."

Len was already pinning one of the King's arms and Fukase moved to hold the other. "Someone want to grab some actual guards?"

"No need." It appeared that half the ball's guests decided to get a look at the commotion with Maika and Yohio leading the pack. "We have a lot to deal with."


	25. Chapter 25

"I'm very sorry about all of this. Believe me when I say that we'll deal with this situation accordingly." The young adviser said, bowing deeply. If the flushed color of his face was any indication, he had to be more than a little embarrassed at the whole deal and Piko couldn't blame him in the slightest; it's not every day that you have to carry home your king after his adventures in treason. That kingdom wasted no time trying to clean up the following damage, sending diplomats, soldiers, and a decent amount of apologies to explain what happened.

Piko and Flower were just happy to have something get done. "That sounds great. I'm sorry that it took us this long to figure out that something wasn't right." Flower commented with an edgy of sarcasm.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "It's not really your job to."

"It's not like it matters that much now. We understand that all of this wasn't your fault and we'll act accordingly as well." That seemed to calm some of his nerves. This guy couldn't have been much older than Piko and yet he was the one sent in to wrap up this mess. At the very least, it'd be wrapped up and over with.

"Thank you. Oh, I'm also supposed to give you this." He pulled on a small, tan envelope with a red seal closing it, imprinted with the symbol of a horse bucking upward and a few smaller drawings surrounding it, too small to be detailed. "Umm... have a nice day." With one last hasty bow, the adviser rejoined his crowd packing up and getting ready to leave.

The two stood there watching the other group ride out for a few minutes, not ready to go inside or have Flower explain what the mysterious letter was which Piko was generally fine with. Despite his near chronic ability to be cold anywhere, it was a nice day; early in summer when vegetation was in full bloom and puffy clouds hung overhead without a big threat of rain while protecting Piko from sunburn. That didn't change the fact that Flower would need to explain what was going on based on the death grip she had around the edge of the paper and the way her stare was locked onto it like glancing away for too long would cause the letter to spontaneously disappear.

"Are you okay?" Piko asked, causing Flower to snap out of whatever train of thought she was on.

Still, her eyes stayed glued on the seal. "Yeah, just... wasn't expecting mail."

"And that isn't the full story."

"Nothing gets past you, detective." Flower quipped. "It's a letter from my parents. They've never sent something straight to me. I guess that's because they couldn't, but still. Their updates went through my good pal, the Chancellor or Maika and Yohio."

Now Piko was curious and hopeful for all good things. "Are you going to open it?"

"Probably should." She cracked the wax before she could start overthinking. It's not like Flower didn't want to hear from her family, but it's always a gamble whether they're talking to her as parents or the dang King and Queen with power over a sizable population and she wasn't quite ready to jump into that. "Who knows what they've heard about things over here."

"It'll be good to find out."Piko agreed, swinging his arms behind him and crossing them.

There was one thing Flower wanted to get over with before moving on and if she didn't bring it up now, it wouldn't stop mentally nagging her. Closure's annoying like that. "Whatever it is, you'll be far out of harm's way. I can guarantee that they're much better at leaving innocent towns out of messes than I am."

"At this point, I got myself here by my free will. I'll say this as many times as needed, you didn't drag me anywhere."

That's not really what I'm trying to get at here. "It's just when it comes down to it, you have a life that I'm not exactly a part of and you need to get back to that soon." She tried to not sound too disappointed. It's a fact that this whole job screwed with Piko's life and the least Flower could do was make it clear that he didn't need to stick around. He has responsibilities and Flower did too, no beating around the bush.

"Well, yeah." Piko agreed way too nonchalant for what he just agreed with. "But, there's no way you could get rid of all of us that easily."

"Huh?" Smooth, real eloquent response. Enchanting maybe.

Not that Piko cared. "I'll need to go home soon; Miki might murder me if I didn't, but I'll be back and..umm, if you wanted, you could visit all of us too. I'd lov- we'd like that." His head ducked a little in embarrassment. Cute.

"Nice save there. Wouldn't want to say something you might regret later." Flower teased only to be met with an eye roll.

"I'd love that." Piko stated still visibly flustered, but smiling shyly and causing Flower her own round of butterflies. "I'm just a little worried that the sentimental isn't returned."

Of course, he's worried too. Both parties stood on thin ice not knowing what they meant to each other; a lingering question of whether this person even has time for me let alone whether they wanted to pursue anything. Piko was just as nervous that he'd be rejected for whatever reason as Flower was and needed to know what the hell was going on.

"I'm gonna be honest, I don't really know what I'm doing here, but I like you too."

Piko snapped his gaze over to Flower in surprise. "You do? No offense, but 'random delivery twig' isn't the greatest choice out there."

It was so hard not to laugh at him. "What makes you think I care? Remember, you're the one that chose to get wrapped up in my mess, so you can't comment."

"Fair." He admitted. "Just, understand what you're setting yourself up for. I'm clueless when it comes to this kind of thing."

And he thought Flower was any better?

The wind started to pick up slightly, whipping up dust from the road around their feet and causing leaves from the scattered trees to blow overhead with enough sound to fill the break in conversation. Piko never thought he would get to confess how he felt, let alone having it reciprocated. As one would expect, he'd never really pursued romance in his normal life; the whole abandonment and helping care for a small child since he was a preteen didn't leave a ton of time for it, but Piko knew that this was the time. Now or never and the opportunity was being handed to him. Although, Flower still needed to know what she was getting herself into.

"We're both clueless. I mean, you've met the people that provided my reference for healthy relationships outside of Yohio and Maika."

"But they're not together." Piko claimed.

"Just keep telling yourself that." Flower scoffed jokingly. "Both of us have things we need to figure out, but that's nothing new and it's not impossible. And for the record, you not being in a court or anything is the last thing I care about."

"Okay...Thanks for not laughing me out of here." That might have been a small worry in Piko's mind.

Flower's smirk was enough to make him regret saying anything. "I would never. At least not for that reason."

"Lucky me." It was no stretch to say whatever would happen between them would be a wild ride, but it'd be worth it. Even though he was being teased, a warm feeling bloomed in Piko's chest that no amount of random chaos could extinguish. It could only be described as comfort. He didn't know what convinced him, but Flower really did care about him and wanted him around.

Although, Piko did have one last question. "So... are you going to open that letter?"

"Always the curious one. I was getting there, but there were kind of other things to do first." Flower settled, lifting the top of her envelope and taking a deep breath. "Okay..."

\--------

Dear Flower,

We're so incredibly sorry about what happened. You never deserved to deal with our business especially when it puts you in danger and we're trying to fix that as soon as possible. If all goes well, we should be home soon and we can't wait to see you. You've probably grown up so much. We can still remember the days when you were this tiny thing that practically begged to be a part of our meetings and sneaking out from your lessons when you thought we didn't notice (we did) to join us.

We promise you'll never be left alone like this ever again. Nothing has hurt us more than not being able to see you grow and learn, but we hope that we'll never miss that from here on out. We're so proud of you; in the time we couldn't be there, you held it all together and we're sure that it wasn't easy. It's not easy for us and we're the ones in charge around here. We owe you the biggest hug out there and soon enough, that'll be a promise kept.

With lots of love,

Mom and Dad

\--------

"...They're coming back." The letter shook in Flower's grasp as if she needed a moment for the meaning to fully sink in. "They're finally coming back!"

"That's amazing!" Piko held out an arm as a silent question that boiled down to 'hugs?' He didn't need to wait long for an answer and Piko might have broken something from her bear-hug, but in his humble opinion, it was completely worth it.

Flower's excitement was pretty much contagious, rubbing off on Piko's mood that was already very high. "God, they have so much to catch up on. This'll be one heck of a story to explain." A laugh punctuated her words.

Wait...wait two seconds. "I'm going to meet your parents?" He couldn't help the noticeable fear in his voice, probably giving Flower an absolute field-day, but heck, this wasn't just her parents, but the King and Queen! What did she expect?

"You'll be fine, I promise." She pulled away, not trying at all to hide her impish expression. "We got this."

"Easy for you to say." Piko pouted. Regardless, there was one last thing to do. "We need to celebrate."

Flower quirked her brow. "Celebrate you having to meet my scary parents?"

"No." He sighed. "Celebrate this mess of a diplomatic visit being over or just getting to breathe for a second, and yeah, your parents are finally getting to come back. I don't know about you, but there's a lot of things to be happy about."

"Could I go with you to see the gang? Y'know, to celebrate the fact that I can do that now?"

Piko was never much of a smiley guy, but that didn't stop his genuine grin. "Of course."

"Great." Quickly, Flower leaned in and placed a small peck on Piko's already blushing cheek before continuing inside. A small thing, but enough to send a new wave of warm fuzzies through him like morning rays of the sun on the best summer days anyone could think of.

Piko used to think that that was the best thing out; quiet summer mornings where he could bolt through the streets, but now he knew that couldn't be more wrong. It was this. This feeling that nothing could go wrong in the world when Flower turned back asking through her eyes if he was ready to go. There wasn't a doubt in Piko's mind; he was and wherever they went, it'd be a wild ride.

A handful of feet, and the two walked along at each other's side.


End file.
